


Broken Stone

by Limitless_Musings



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale, Sword Art Online
Genre: Additional Warnings Apply, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-03
Updated: 2017-02-03
Packaged: 2018-09-21 18:51:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 48,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9562103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Limitless_Musings/pseuds/Limitless_Musings
Summary: Kagome took a deep breath, "If it were just me then it wouldn't be a problem." Seeing his confused expression she continued, "Unlike before, I now have someone I need to protect."





	1. Kindness

Disclaimer: I don't own jack!

_Pairing: Klein/Kagome_

_**Broken Stone** _

**Chapter One** : Kindness

Kagome stood patiently outside of a very inconspicuous edifice. It was short, square and made up entirely of gray brick. There were only a handful of windows making it appear very dark inside. To many this place looked like a normal shop that was nestled between two major veins of traffic. However it wasn't normal. Not at all. This very shop was only one of a select few locations that had the coveted Sword Art Online available for sale. Souta had been going on and on about how amazing it would be to try the game out. So, as the wonderful big sister she was, Kagome took it upon herself to take her place up in line and wait her turn to obtain not one, but _two_ copies of the popular game. Everything was working out pretty well since this location was only a few blocks away from their family's shrine.

She turned her cerulean gaze up towards the darkening sky. It was the night before Halloween and here she was waiting in line. SAO, as the hardcore gamers preferred to call it, wasn't scheduled to be released for another six hours. The young woman pushed herself up on her tiptoes to peer above the heads of the crowd ahead of her. Despite her early arrival there had already been a line forming outside of the building. So she grabbed the next spot and waited. Still, it seemed as if the line was simply building in front rather than the back. Dark eyebrows knitted in frustration. Were people already cutting?

The balls of her feet ached as a small hunger headache began to form behind her eyes. Stupidly, she had decided to undergo this endeavor alone. Most of the groups that had come as early as she had brought either friends or family or even both along. They had been taking turns 'holding down the fort' while members of their groups would wander off and occasionally bring back food for the rest. A low growl from her stomach echoed loudly in her ears. A flush of embarrassment cross the ex-miko's face.

"Whoa, you must be starving by now!" A man behind her commented. The blush painted on her pale cheeks turned no less than five shades darker. Kagome was quick to turn on her aching heel to face the unwelcomed observer. "Been here nearly all night and hadn't seen you eat anything." The man commented, a gentle smile on his face. Azure eyes quickly noted that he was fairly tall. Although lean he had an air of masculinity that followed him; especially with the small tuft of hair on his chin. He held out his hand, "Here, you can have this." Within the stranger's grasp was a small back with the label _Sunbuck's_ on it.

"I appreciate the offer but I have to decline." Kagome waved her hands and polite rescinded the offer. It wasn't that she didn't want the food. In fact her body burned and screamed for the chance to fill its stomach up with something of value. Instead she kept her eyes focused on the unusually kind face smiling in front of her. After spending so many years in the Feudal Era she had grown suspicious of small acts of kindness. Those were almost always the precursor to unsavory demands. Even if this time period was slightly more tamed, her survival instincts had yet to dissipate.

The man laughed, "I didn't poison it or anything. Go ahead and take it. You need it more than I do." The dark haired woman was about to deny the accusation when a low growl rumbled from her belly. The blush returned in full force. Reluctantly, she plucked the brown paper package from his hands. Kagome gave a small bow of appreciation before opening the bag. Inside was the most delicious looking blueberry muffin she'd ever seen. Her mouth watered and she quickly, although consciously, devoured the breakfast item with vigor. The man's smile grew wider, "See? Doesn't that feel better?" He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "I'm Ryoutarou by the way."

Kagome gently wiped her face, "Kagome. Thank you very much for your kindness." She bowed before him again. Many of the manners she'd learn from her previous adventures had yet to go away as well. Perhaps they never would.

The red head laughed nervously, "No need to be so formal. Besides it's best to stick together in situations like these, no?"

The dark haired woman allowed a small smile to cross her face, "I suppose so." The pair turned their attention to the swelling crowds before them. Groups of three or four had quickly doubled to six or eight. One particular group that had been eight strong from the get go had nearly tripled to twenty-four. Two brows twitched in unison.

Kagome pointed a pale finger at the people in front of them, "Should we call in the line guards?" Several officers stood stiffly at the front of the line. Six had flanked either side of the entrance with three per side while ten more monitored the movements of the people waiting to get in.

Ryoutarou shrugged, "Nah, we've still got a while to go. It's likely that many of those guys are just there to visit. Besides, it wouldn't do any good. The guards are just here to make sure no fights break out." The red head released a deep sigh. "The last time I was at one of these midnight releases everyone at the front of the line broke out into a huge brawl. So the release got shut down and no one could get their games until a few days later after all the store's glass was replaced and merchandise accounted for." He crossed his arms over his chest and closed his eyes in an expression of sincere thought. "So confronting them isn't much of an option either."

Kagome sighed as her form hunched, "So you're saying that we're royally screwed?"

"Yeah, pretty much." Ryoutarou scowled. As much as he didn't like the thought, it was true. With such a limited amount of copies of SAO being released the chances of this store having enough for all of them was slim to none. His shoulders drooped. Well this was going to suck. Still, he held out enough hope to remain rooted to his spot.

He opened his eyes and for the first time took a moment to look at the young woman he just helped out. She was rather cute, he noted. Kagome, he remembered her name, was currently playing with her hair by threading it through her fingers. For a woman who had been out all night by herself she didn't seem all that scared by the prospect of being alone in such a large group of men. The majority of the crowd were men in their early to mid twenties like himself. They had swarmed in large crowds and even a few of them were jostling with each other for the right to stand at the front. One of the officers moved from his post and quickly put a stop to the feuding males before it got out of hand.

"So, you a big fan of online games?" Ryoutarou started, attempting to make small talk with his new companion. His current friends had gone off temporarily to get some evening coffee for themselves while he held their spot. They'd been gone for nearly two hours now so he was getting rather bored. Plus, how could he not take up the offer to chat up a cute girl? This would likely be the only chance he got after they returned. So he decided to take advantage of that.

Kagome shrugged, "Nah, not really but my brother is a massive fanboy of them. He's been raving non-stop about this game so I figured I'd do him a favor and get it for him." A small smile pulled at her lips, "Well for him and for me too. I thought it'd be a good way to spend time together. Kami knows we hadn't been able to lately."

Kagome turned the full force of her smile onto the kind stranger, "Thankfully I already got my NerveGear a few weeks back. Managed to hide it from Souta by storing it away in the shed. He's none the wiser to my plans."

Ryoutarou felt his cheeks heat a tiny bit. He'd never had any siblings to call his own and had always had a deep connection to his parents. It was a relief to see someone else care for their family in a way that reminded him of his own.

"I take it you two are close huh?" He smiled back at her.

The dark haired teen nodded, "Yeah but we had kind of grown apart in recent years. I had my own obligations that I needed to tend to and he had his." She dropped her hands and casually placed them in lining of her denim pockets. "Although he was always there helping me out in the end. It's the least I can do for him. The little squirt."

The conversation milled on pleasantly. They mostly conversed about what they did in their daily lives. He divulged to her about his day job working in a manufacturing company. It was hard labor but it paid well. He'd gotten lucky in that the release was scheduled during one of his off days. He'd just called in sick a few days prior to prep for the release. Kagome had laughed at his enthusiasm and stated that she'd gone through the hassle of driving out at night and going to the only shop in town that sold the NerveGear that was open twenty-four hours. It'd been a strange experience for her but one that left her feeling excited at the end of the night. She also mentioned about her chosen career path.

"So you want to teach? What age group?" The red head prodded slightly. So he was curious, give him a break. It'd been a long time since a girl had actually talked to him for more than five minutes without cursing at him or slapping him.

"Honestly, I'd like to teach high school." She stretched her arms high above her head, completely missing the shocked expression of his face.

"Teenagers? The most rowdy bunch and you want to _teach_ them? Oh boy, you've got some guts there. I'll give you that." The young man paused as she let out a hardy laugh.

"But that's the whole point! It's a job only the strong can do." Kagome gave him a light-hearted wink. "I've had my share of bad days when I was around that age. I could've used someone to help guide me down a better path. So I thought to myself, why not be that person for someone else?" She turned around to face him fully, her dark hair fluttering with the October wind behind her. "This way I can do something that I love while making a difference at the same time." Ryoutarou cocked his head to the side as he watched her face immediately darken. "Although that might be for some time. I'm still rather far behind in my studies."

"That's not too hard to fix. A few years studying your ass off and you'll be a teacher in no time. You're still young, why worry about something like that?" He answered freely. Kagome stopped as she carefully considered this stranger's words. It was true. She'd had more setbacks than most but she wasn't old by any means. In fact she was barely breaking barrier for the age of legal drinking. She'd only started feeling down on herself when she'd realized how far behind she'd fallen in comparison to her peers. All of whom had not had the wonderful experience of travelling back in time for several years and fighting blood thirsty youkai on a daily basis.

She smiled kindly, "Maybe you're right." Perhaps she'd been too hard on herself. The pair fell into a comfortable silence. The crowd around them dulled into a mild chatter in comparison to the loud roar of excited incoherent ramblings that'd been heard before.

"Ryou!" A couple of masculine voices called out. There were five of them in total approaching in a small group. The red head waved them down but did not move from beside her. They all greeted each other warmly as the men patted each other on the back. "Thanks for holding it down for us man! Why don't you go grab yourself some caffeine as well? You look dead tired!" And it was true. After several hours of standing in line and with the sun setting, they only had a few more hours left before all of the local coffee shops would close. This would be the last call for his shot of energy.

"Yeah sure thing," He turned his attention to Kagome. "You want to come with me? We'll hold your spot so don't worry about that." The young woman's face flushed at the sudden attention that was drawn to her. The ex-miko's first reaction was to frantically wave her hands in front of her face and decline the offer. This time it wasn't because she suspected him but because she felt the offer too kind.

"Oh no, you don't have to do that!" She started but Ryoutarou would hear none of it.

"It's no big deal. Don't worry about it. Besides you look even more tired than I do." He smiled as she flushed even darker. His friends also took up his cause.

"Don't worry miss, we'll make sure you get your spot back." A semi stern looking man with a parted mustache and beard soothed.

"Yeah no problem!" A youthful yet tall young man chirped eagerly.

Kagome sighed in defeat, "I guess I can't argue with that. Alright then, let's get going." She adjusted her purse over her shoulder as Ryoutarou offered her his hand. She gently took it and balanced her weight against his grip as she stepped off the steep curve from which they were standing. Their hands dropped afterwards.

"So where to?" The young woman inquired as they eyed the line rapidly winding around the block and heading towards another bustling intersection.

The red head tapped his index finger on his chin, "Well the _Sunbuck's_ around here is going to be absolutely insane with that line. So we should probably head to the one just a few blocks down."

Kagome nodded, "That sounds like a good idea to me." They commuted to their destination in a comfortable silence. It was rather strange. Ever since the end of her relationship with Inuyasha she hadn't really found anyone else that she'd been comfortable with. The way things had ended between them left her emotionally scarred and wary of entering any other relationship. She hadn't even gone out on a single date in the few years she'd been back in this era. But now here she was walking along with a man she barely met to a coffee shop and was about to get a drink with him. When had the world turned over on its head?

"Here we are!" Ryoutarou announced, flashing her a wide grin. She stopped and glanced at the shop. Recognition lit up her eyes as she tried not to break out into a laugh. Now this was ironic!

The light chiming of the door announced their arrival. Not even two steps in, Kagome was bombarded with eager greetings and enthusiastic questions.

"Kagome! Where've you been hiding?" A short, sandy haired woman whined as she moved from behind the counter to greet her old friend. "After you left things got so boring! How am I supposed to entertain myself now?" The woman pouted as she placed her hands on her hips and scowled.

Kagome laughed, "Sorry about that Michiko but I told you that I had to take off for a while to study."

"That doesn't mean drop off the face of the earth!" Michiko huffed. It was then that her hazel eyes settled on the confused man standing beside her. A sly expression crept its way onto the woman's face.

"Studying right? I'm sure that's what you were doing." The smirk playing upon Michiko's lips turned devious. "So tell me Kagome, how long were going to hide this handsome catch from me? It's not nice to keep secrets from your boss."

The dark-haired woman shook her head, "You're my ex-boss and I'm not hiding anything. Ryoutarou and I just met. We're just on a quick coffee run." She'd forgotten how much of a nosy nancy her old manager had been. The woman was pushing her mid thirties but frequently liked to butt her way into her employees' private lives—preferably their love lives. On more than one occasion Michiko had tried to set Kagome up on a few blind dates. Nearly all of her attempts resulted in massive failure. The ex-miko could spot a trap when she saw one coming. Blind dates included.

"Coffee run… hm, sure." The manager drawled with a knowing expression and saucy wink. Ryoutarou remained silent as he watched the exchange. It was fairly clear that there was some misunderstanding about their relationship but he wasn't one to complain. Especially if it did land him a date. The pair approached the counter as another girl peered over the display case and flashed his companion a bright smile.

"It's so good to see you again Kagome! The usual?" The petite brunette inquired as she pulled a medium sized cup.

Kagome nodded, "If you'd please, Emiko. Although I'd like to add an extra shot of espresso. I'm going to need the energy." Michiko suddenly looked as if she'd heard something scandalous. Azure eyes narrowed at the presumptuous woman. "Not like that either. We're waiting in line for that new game's midnight release. Still have a few hours left to go." She tapped her watch and sighed.

"You're into gaming? That's something I haven't heard before." The barista called Emiko countered. "Getting it for Souta maybe?"

Kagome smiled, "Well you're right on both accounts. Getting it for him and for me as well. Going to try something new for once." The brunette nodded as she turned her attention to the red head beside her old coworker.

"So what can I get you?" Emiko smiled kindly. In the two years she'd known Kagome, the woman had never once brought a male outside of her family to the shop. She briefly spoke of her failed relationship to an overbearing and possessive man but never went too far into the details. Even if what her friend said about their just meeting was true, it was clear that she was showing him some measure of trust that she hadn't to other men. Therefore, Emiko would do her best to ensure that the two had a good time while they were in the shop.

"Just something simple if you don't mind." He commented, watching as Emiko nodded and went to work on their drinks. Kagome stood beside him and pulled out her phone. It was a basic flip phone that had prepaid minutes with no extra applications. Souta had fussed at her when he first saw the contraption, demanding that she return it immediately and upgrade. In his words, the device was so far behind the technological curve that even dinosaurs would rather shit on it than use it. Kagome however found it to be exactly what she needed. She didn't have any use for any of those 'extras' that he deemed as necessary. She only needed to be able to contact a few people in this era and that was how she was going to keep it. Now, if only she learned how to properly text. Souta's attempts to teach her how had often left her frustrated and him on the ground laughing so hard that tears would gather in his eyes.

A message appeared on her phone from her mother. The poor woman was going out of her mind with worry and had settled on calling and texting her every hour to ensure her daughter's safety. When, after a minute, the Higurashi matriarch did not receive an answer, she called.

"I'm fine mom." Kagome answered swiftly. "Don't worry, I found a few people to stay with me tonight." Black brows furrowed into a deep crevice, "Oh come on, what do you take me for? I can handle myself. Yes I know, I love you too." There was an exasperated sigh. "You shouldn't stress yourself out so much. You'll give yourself more grays. Oh hardy har har, keep it up and I'll make you bald as well." Suddenly Kagome flushed as she heard her mother's reply. "Well if that's the case then should I go ahead and buy you a purple wig for Christmas? Ah, wait I think pink or baby blue might be better. Hm, not a good choice? Apple green it is with fire truck red streaks! Thanks mom, you're the best at this kind of stuff!" The woman laughed as she let up on her teasing. "Alright I get your point but seriously don't worry I'll be fine. See you later tonight okay? Love you too, bye." She flipped the object shut and turned her attention back to Ryoutarou.

"Sorry about that, she can be a bit overprotective sometimes." It came with a territory. After the 'Incident' as her family liked to call it, many precautions had to be put in place. One of which was checking in with either her mother or grandfather when she was out late. Kagome didn't mind it much though. They were never too intrusive and today was only an exception as she'd gone alone before her mother could stop her. She'd also had to remain home to keep an eye on their grandfather since his health had been failing lately.

"It's fine, don't worry about it. Besides, it's a good thing you two have such a close relationship." The red head grinned down at the woman beside him, "There isn't anything wrong with that." Kagome felt her cheeks flush. With Inuyasha it'd always been jealous glares and whines for attention. He didn't like anyone stealing her attention away from him, not even her family. It was a nice change of pace to meet a person who was secure in himself and his relationships with his family.

"Here's your order!" Emiko chirped as she handed the drinks off to the pair. Kagome grabbed hers as Ryoutarou picked his up simultaneously.

Michiko popped her head from behind the counter, "Now you kids come back again soon? You got that!" The sandy-haired woman pointed a long and delicate finger at the two. "That means no blowing off your shifts anymore! You start again tomorrow!"

The ex-miko laughed, "If you say so. I'll see you guys soon."

Ryoutarou sipped at his coffee as they trekked back to the ever-growing line waiting for them just around the bend. Kagome cupped her hands around the plastic cup, using the object to warm her cool hands. It wasn't that cold out just yet but the breeze was just enough to chill her fingers.

The crosswalk lit up and the two walked casually back towards the group of men that Ryoutarou had invited. As promised, they'd waited for them and even waved them down as they approached. The man stopped and offered Kagome his hand again as she stepped back up onto the roped off curve. She smiled at him appreciatively and took her spot in front of them.

The next several hours they'd spent conversing amongst one another. Kagome had learned that the men were old gaming friends of Ryoutarou's. They'd been guild mates in a previous online game they'd played and they were pretty stoked about trying out Sword Art Online. She returned the conversation and mentioned the brief escapades she'd had in her short experience of trying gaming—mostly offline. When she mentioned her brother's screen name though, there was a deafening silence.

"Wait, so your _little brother_ is _the_ Shita? Like the one from the Covenant of the Dragon?" The man with the parted mustache gaped.

"Yeah, well at least that's what he told me his name was online. Why? Is he some kind of big shot?" She pinned the men with a curious stare. The group shared a stunned look amongst each other.

"He was the top player of that MMORPG!" The youthful one commented as he stared at her in not so subtle surprise.

Kagome tapped her chin thoughtfully, "Now that you mention it, he was playing that game a lot a little while back. I'm not that surprised that he made it so far. He was always good at games like that." She leaned forward and mentioned casually to the others, "Between us I think he's got some kind of good luck charm. I swear nothing can defeat that kid so long as he's got a control stick in his hand." The group laughed.

The rest of the night remained uneventful. It wasn't until fifteen past midnight rolled around that the crowd bustled in excitement and agitation. The officers at the front began to release people into the shop one group at a time. The process was slow and painstaking but it prevented the massacre that was waiting to happen had they'd not done it. Kagome took a deep breath as a middle-aged cop waved her through the threshold into the tiny shop. The workers all looked tired with dark circles under their eyes. The young man, mostly likely in his late teens, at the far end of the counter waved her over to his register.

"How many copies would you like?" He asked tonelessly, dark eyes dulled from sleep deprivation.

"Two please." She answered quickly. The worker turned around and grabbed two cases of Sword Art Online from under the counter. She swiped her card and finished her transaction swiftly. However before she left and slipped the boy a small yen note from the change in her purse. "Use it to grab yourself some food. You look like you need it." Kagome smiled. The teen's face lit up as a kind smile broke across his face.

"Thank you."

She nodded and quickly met up with Ryoutarou and his friends outside of the shop. The group gathered together and flashed their games to each other when they were approached by a camera woman.

"Would you mind if we filmed you for our segment?" The reporter inquired as she pointed her microphone at them. Kagome shrugged while the others nodded in their agreement.

"Alright now go ahead and stand together. Ah, I'll need you up front." The woman pulled Kagome forward and positioned her next to Ryoutarou. The pair smiled as they posed with their copies of the game. "Right in ten seconds we'll be live. Just smile at the camera and stay like that until I say otherwise okay? Good, now… three… two…" She moved her finger for the motion one. Seven pairs of wide grins and hands raising Sword Art Online high enough for all to see moved in unison. The segment only lasted a minute but left Kagome's cheeks hurting from the force of the smile.

She turned and gave Ryoutarou a kind one in return, "Thanks for doing all that earlier. You didn't have to." His friends wandered a short distance away but they were watching keenly.

The red head rubbed the back of his head, "Nah, it was no big deal." He paused for a short, awkward moment. "Although I was wondering. If you didn't mind, would you want to meet up online? It'd be a bit boring to just play solo or with a single person. Wouldn't mind meeting the notorious Shita myself too."

Kagome's smile quickly turned mischievous, "Oh, so you just want to meet your role model huh? Hm, I don't know. He's not one to give out autographs." It was total bullcrap. Her brother was an attention whore when it came to his accomplishments online however Ryoutarou didn't need to know that.

The man waved his hands frantically, "That's not what I meant! I mean, I'd like to see you again." His face flushed brightly. Well that had come off as more forward than he intended. Swiftly he tried to rectify his words. "As in, it'd be nice to hang out again sometime. Kind of like earlier." He trailed off. Damn it, he was screwing this all up.

Kagome laughed, "So basically you're asking me out to an in game date?"

"Uh…" Was all his brain could supply. Where the hell were all those one liners he'd polished so perfectly?

"I suppose that'll do for now. So the answer is yes, I'll see you online later today." She pulled out her phone and quickly opened up her dial screen. "What's your number? I'm going to give you a call so I can save your contact." Once they'd saved each other's information she bid them farewell. "See you this afternoon! I'll meet up with you after logging in!"

She made her way quietly back home. It'd been an uneventful walk but the promised meeting left Kagome excited for the time to pass. As she crested the top of the shrine's stairs she contemplated waking Souta early and presenting the new gift. A small smile spread across her lips. That would be a good idea but first she'd need to set up her NerveGear. The young woman made a quick turn and grabbed the console from the shed at the far end of the premises.

By the time she entered her family's home, her mother had fallen asleep on the couch while Souta sat hunched on the love seat. His face was pulled into a woeful pout while his shoulders slumped in sad defeat.

"What's with that look?" The azure-eyed woman teased. He cast a glare over at his sister.

"Why are you back so late?" He threw back at her. Kagome fought the urge not to laugh. He was always such a baby when it came to things like these.

"Oh I just finished running to the local game store." She presented her bag in front of him. The title of the game was teasingly translucent through the plastic. "Want to know what I got?" His eyes widened as his mouth dropped open.

The older sibling pulled one copy out and presented it to him.

"Happy birthday Souta." She grinned, handing him his copy of Sword Art Online. The teenager threw his arms around his sister as tightly as he could, thanking her profusely through his tears.

"Also, I got one for myself as well." She withdrew her copy as well. With a slight quirk of her lips she pushed her console box towards him. "Now would you mind helping me set up my NerveGear? You know I suck at technology."

Souta laughed, "Would I ever!"


	2. Birth of Chaos

Disclaimer: I don't own jack!

_Pairing: Klein/Kagome_

_**Broken Stone** _

**Chapter Two** : Birth of Chaos

Kagome glanced down at her phone. Ryoutarou had texted her a little while ago. He mentioned that the game was set up in such a way that they'd immediately spawn in the Town of Beginnings on the first floor of the game. It was about the only information that had been released to the public on Sword Art Online. He asked to meet her and Souta there shortly after the launch. She readily agreed. He also sent her his screen name so she could look for him. The young woman smiled. She supposed that she ought to pick a screen name for herself as well.

Souta had gotten his by taking the 'Shi' character from their surname and adding it before the 'Ta' of his name. She supposed that she could do that as well. Typing in the information, Kagome stared at the name 'Shime' staring back at her. The dark haired woman shrugged. Well it was better than nothing. Plus Miko would be entirely too boring. Hime also wasn't much of an option. Dozens if not hundreds of others were likely to use that name as well. Pressing the enter button, she settled on Shime. The next screen that popped up prompted her to choose a specific type of character design. Many of them were drawn up into the typical online gaming archetypes such as the tank. However mages were surprisingly missing from the selection screen. Her cursor stopped over one that carried a long, thin blade. It was a type of character meant for speed and accuracy. With a swift click, she selected it.

It took several more minutes for Kagome to decide upon the appearance she wanted to take. She scrolled through the options until she simply decided upon remaining as basic as possible. The avatar retained many of her characteristics from the real world however the face seemed a bit off. The dark haired woman shrugged. There wasn't much she could do about that anyways. The process went by fairly quickly. So quickly in fact that she didn't notice her brother had snuck into her room until he announced his presence with a complaint.

"Do we really have to meet up with those friends of yours?" Souta whined. It was the first day of the launch. He wanted to spend time with his sister alone first before forming any kind of party with other people. When she told him that she'd agreed to meet with a few others she'd met at the game shop, he was rather disappointed. The teenager pouted childishly as his sister laughed at him.

"Yes, we do. I made a promise." Kagome gave her younger brother a playful wink. "We can party up any other time as well. Besides, it'd be fun to play with a large group for the first day. Don't you think?" The bright grin she flashed at him was enough to make the young man's resolve cave. It'd been a while since she'd been as open as she was now. Seeing his beloved sister so happy meant the world to Souta. A soft smile touched his lips.

"Fine, but you're playing forward today." His smile turned devious, "You get to handle all the monsters. I'll just sit on the sidelines as you flounder around." He exposed her weakness for technology. Had she mentioned that she was horrible at games? She was going to royally suck at this one, she just knew it.

Azure eyes narrowed at the threat, "Oh you're so evil."

Souta smirked, "I learned only from the best!"

"Mom, Souta's talking smack about you! He says that you're evil incarnate!" The young woman retaliated as she shouted down to their mother. Said mother could be heard screaming from the kitchen at her teenage son for his lack of manners. The dark-haired teen balked. "Now he says that you're a dragon disguised in the skin of your human victims!" The ex-miko taunted. The sound of pans clattering to the ground and vaguely veiled curses echoed from the kitchen. A sudden demand for her youngest child to 'receive his punishment' resounded loudly throughout the house. Even their grandfather's laughter could be heard. It was pretty obvious that she'd set him up but their family played along to lighten up the mood in the house.

"She lies! I'd never say that! Kagome's the only dragon in this house! She keeps her victims locked away in her lair! I hear them screaming for mercy every night!" He cried out as he ran out of the room. Souta paused just at the threshold between her lair, as he had so affectionately dubbed it, and the corridor. He wanted to squint at her and call her what she really was, evil given human flesh. But he did not. Instead he threw a smile her way before walking down to face the wrath of his parent.

It hadn't taken long for the dark-haired teen to get back in his mother's good graces. Just a few promised chores to be done by the end of the day and he was set to go. The young man looked down at his watch and nearly cried out in frustration. Only five minutes were left before launch time. He quickly scrambled back into his room and booted up his NerveGear. The equipment was still a new technology so it often took several minutes for it to fully load. A white screen appeared in front of his eyes as the monitor flashed its loading screen. The countdown began.

Kagome laid upon her bed in the room adjacent to his. The siblings mirrored each other's positions as they waited for their game to start. The azure-eyed woman sucked in a deep breath. Only a little bit longer now. Her heart fluttered rapidly in her chest. The last three numbers ticked away and the load screen for Sword Art Online appeared.

"Link start!" The Higurashi siblings called out in unison. The next thing either of them knew, they were standing in the shopping district of the Town of Beginnings.

Kagome blinked as she took in her surroundings. Being as technologically challenged as she was, she found the scenery absolutely phenomenal. It were almost as if everything she was seeing was real. Medieval European styled buildings dotted the landscape with their imposing statures. A clock tower peered above the line of edifices that were set up along the shopping district that they had been spawned at. It looked to be a great distance away and, from what she could tell, all the brick roads seemed to be centered around it. If she had to guess Kagome would presume that the clock tower served as the public forum for this place.

The young woman began to feel a bit exposed in this new reality. As her first full dive, it was quite intimidating. Azure eyes peered over beside her and found a tall, blond and green-eyed man leaning lazily against one of the food stalls. The man shoved his hands into his pockets. He was dressed in Feudal Era style clothing with a matching beige colored hakama and haori. A black sash was tied around his waist with a simple sword slipped between the cloth and his hip. The ex-miko blinked. She focused in by his cursor and read the name 'Shita'.

"Really?" Kagome's expression deadpanned. "That's the look you go for? Totally not cool Souta."

Her brother's shoulders stiffened, "You know, it's not exactly cool to use real names in the online world." Souta pinned her with a displeased glare. "Besides, you're just jealous that my avatar is more awesome." She laughed outright at the accusation.

"Yes, I'm jealous of the avatar you spent ten minutes creating." The young woman poked him roughly in the chest, mildly surprised that she was able to feel the cool metal of the chest plate covering his torso.

"Ha! So you admit it!" He smirked back at her, refusing to rise to her goad. The two squabbled, intermittently poking and prodding at each other to emphasize the effect of their insults every now and then. Kagome stopped as they approached the center of the shopping district. The taverns and weapon retailers were bustling so it'd be difficult to try to get equipment now. Azure eyes scanned the crowd for a familiar screen name to appear.

Souta gave her a rough pat on her back, "Quit craning your neck. You look like an idiot when you do that."

Kagome flushed at the comment, "I do not!" She bit back more harshly than she intended. The young man smiled but didn't tease her anymore.

"Did you get his screen name?" Her brother inquired, passively peering over the crowd.

"He said that it was Klein." The dark haired woman stood on the tips of her toes and tried to look over the mass of taller people that surrounded them. Souta's back went rigid.

"Wait, you sure it was Klein?" He turned his falsely green eyes onto her. "Did he mention anything about playing the Covenant of the Dragon?"

She quirked an eyebrow a this sudden change in demeanor, "Yeah actually. Ryoutarou said something about being a guild leader in that game. He also said that you were pretty well known too." Her voice dipped into a low taunt, "Now I know why you spend all of your free time holed away in your little man cave."

"Man cave aside, Klein was the bastard that nearly kicked my ass out of the top spot." Souta scowled as he crossed his arms over his chest petulantly. The pout from before returned in its full childish force. "Come on sis, do we really have to meet up with this guy?"

"Mister Shita," Kagome smirked, using the screen name he requested she call him by. "Am I detecting a bit of sour grapes from you? I never took you as the type to run away with your tail between your legs."

The insult burned Souta more than he cared to admit.

"Fine, I'll suck it up for now but you're doing my chores for me tonight. After all you were the one who got my ass in trouble earlier." He scowled over at her. His sister shrugged nonchalantly at the tradeoff. She couldn't deny the accusation. It was as true as the observation that he _was_ trying to avoid meeting with the person that had almost been better than him at another game. It was rather funny to see if she were completely honest with herself. A few chores was worth watching Souta squirm.

The pair approached a sparsely populated weapon shop. The name _Aylard's Armory_ was scrawled across a white banner that hung loosely over the tiny booth. A plainly dressed Non Player Character stared at them blankly.

"How may I help you today?" The character titled Aylard inquired.

Kagome bent over the glass showcase presenting a duel set of long blades. One of which was curved while the other was thin. She tapped her finger on the glass. Suddenly the weapon appeared in her hand. The name Eiki displayed under the information bar. It was listed as a rapier sword. Its accuracy and speed were quite high but its defensive capabilities were significantly lower. With a slight brush of a finger she scrolled through the rest of the information. 20,000 Col flashed in red lettering beneath her own cursor. Was that how much she had? The Eiki was listed at 10,000 Col. It'd take about half of her savings but she'd be armed. With a minor shrug Kagome selected the buy option. She could always earn more money anyways.

"Thank you for your purchase." Aylard commented smoothly. Souta peered over at the other blade then turned his nose up at it. The cost was far more extreme at 18,000 Col but its stats were much higher than the Eiki's. He'd have to hunt around and see what the best deals were currently. No need to waste all of his money if he could just find a better weapon for virtually nothing out in the field or through a side quest.

"Hey! There you are!" Ryoutarou's voice called out. Kagome snapped to attention, her head swiveling around to greet the newcomer. The familiar red head approached them but he looked quite a bit different than she remembered. His facial features seemed to look the same but Ryoutarou looked more well groomed than she last remembered with shoulder length hair and a nearly beardless chin save for an even smaller tuft of hair there then what he had in the real world. She found herself more than just a little disappointed by the lack of facial hair. The extra scruff had looked good on him.

"You're late." The dark haired woman teased.

Ryoutarou rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "Yeah sorry about that. My boss called me so I had to sort out a mess one of our new hires created." The man took a deep sigh, "Apparently the kid managed to somehow knock over an entire wall of shelving and dumped all the products onto the floor. They got enough coverage but my ass almost got called in today." His face turned into a low scowl, "I'm not looking forward to cleaning that up tomorrow. Anyways enough about me, how've you been enjoying the game so far?" He flashed her a bright grin.

Souta glared over at the man suspiciously. He knew a man looking to get laid when he saw one. This guy was clearly seeking more than just friendship with his sister, but she looked so happy that he didn't say anything. He'd just watch them closely for the time being. Who knows, maybe this guy was exactly what his sibling needed to pull her out of the funk she'd been in lately. Kami knew how withdrawn she'd been since her separation with Inuyasha.

Ryoutarou's gaze met with Souta's and recognition lit up his face.

"Ah, you must be her brother! I heard a bit about you. Nice to officially meet you Shita." The red head struck out his hand and smiled. The teen grasped it firmly and gave a firm shake. He briefly fought the urge to not outright try to break the appendage in his hold. Sensing the tension, Ryoutarou released Souta's hand and turned his attention back to Kagome.

"Anyways, you guys feel up to exploring the field for a bit? I just got armed and the guys won't be ready to hang out for a little while longer." He neglected to mention that they chose not to meet up immediately to give him time to spend with Kagome. He liked talking to her yesterday and wanted to try talking to her again today. What better way to do than to battle some low-leveled monsters? If his timing was right then they'd have another hour or so before the others would try to message them.

"Sounds good to me, but we've gotta get Sou… ah forgive me, Shita some gear first." Kagome shrugged as Souta glared at her. How many times did he have to tell her not to use his real name?

Ryoutarou laughed, "You're making your sister call you by your screen name? Totally not cool." This time Kagome laughed with him.

"Yeah, yeah I already heard that once already. Now c'mon the shops are starting to get busy." The teen pouted. He really didn't care for being called out like that not once but twice. Today was officially going to suck. Souta grabbed his sister's hand and started pulling her towards the crowd. The red head followed closely behind him. The two casually conversed with each other while he simply ignored them in favor of finding the best place to procure equipment. It'd taken about half an hour of talking to other players and checking out prices before Souta finally settled on a heavy blade called Krieger. It had extremely high offensive and defensive stats but low accuracy and speed. Though that was fine by him. The stronger his strike was the better.

"So when it was all over Arata was dressed as a piñata doing the hokey pokey on top of the bar." Ryoutarou laughed, "I'll have to text you the pictures. I've still got them saved. I use it every time he tries to blackmail me into being his wingman."

Kagome laughed even louder, "That's just hilarious! I bet he's been banned from taking shots at the bar hasn't he?"

"Not only shots but every kind of alcohol." Ryoutarou put on a serious expression. "Once the waitress saw him coming in the week afterwards she just about dropped her tray and pointed to the door. I don't think I ever saw someone so pissed before."

Souta nearly fell over. What in the hell kind of conversation had he missed?

"Yeah I'd be pissed too if I had to clean up after the mess he made." His sister interjected.

"That's okay because Kunio managed to get her number later in the night by sweet talking her. They dated for a few months before going their separate ways." The red head placed his hands in his pockets, "Mostly she wanted to leave the restaurant industry altogether and study abroad to become a diplomat. They broke up amicably but he was pretty torn up about it. Been drowning in his sorrows ever since."

"You guys ready or what?" The teen broke in before the conversation could turn towards Kagome's past relationships. Well, relationship really. She'd only ever been involved with one guy and he turned out to be a real chicken shit.

"Whenever you are." Ryoutarou smiled. The ex-miko moved in between the two males, acting as a human buffer between them. She knew that Souta wasn't happy that the other guy was here but she couldn't bring herself to do much about it. She had been enjoying herself and still wanted to spend more time with Ryoutarou. Though she also didn't want to neglect her brother. Their time here was just as much about him as it was her, so the young woman decided to play mediator between the two.

She looked up at her brother, "So where do you think we should start first? You're pretty good a picking good hunting spots."

The teen stopped to eye the mass of the crowd flowing irregularly. A good portion were heading towards the closest and southernmost exist. Therefore Souta logically concluded that the experience and items in that area would be taking a serious hit soon. The northernmost exit also appeared to have a large crowd gathering around it. Which just left the eastern and western gates. Picking a random direction, he moved off towards the east.

"We'll try this place first. Looks like everyone's just paying attention to the closest hunting ranges so far."

The trio meandered through the mass of people and traversed through the threshold between the safe zone and the open field. Ryoutarou grabbed hold of Souta's shoulder before pointing towards a player out in the field. It was another teen. However he seemed to be fighting like a pro.

"A beta tester?" The false blond inquired but the red head already approached the stranger.

Souta and Kagome watched as Ryoutarou spoke to the person. They seemed to reach an agreement when their companion waved them down. The stranger's face quickly soured.

"These are my friends Shime and Shita." The man interjected with their screen names. "We're hanging out today and thought that maybe you could show us the basics. You wouldn't mind would you?"

"I don't suppose it'd hurt…" The dark haired male said hesitantly. The azure-eyed woman looked at him curiously. The boy didn't seem to be hostile towards them, just cautious. Perhaps he had a social anxiety?

"Guys this is Kirito. He was a beta tester." Ryoutarou introduced them, motioning between the siblings to the newcomer. Her brother suddenly took a keen interest in the new person.

"How was the game when you tested it?" Souta pressed eagerly.

Kirito's expression lightened up, "It was awesome! The boss battles are pretty difficult but I managed to get to floor eight by the end of the beta run. I'm pretty sure I can get there in a few months time now." He answered with an air of confidence. The men engaged in conversation about the game's mechanics and how best to level up. Honestly, Kagome was a little bored with it so she chose to turn her attention elsewhere. Picking up a rock she held the object between her fingers. Her index finger smoothed over the rough lines of its exterior. It was so strange to her that something that was virtual could feel so real. The rock was cold and rough but she could feel it as if she were picking it up in the outside world.

The ex-miko's eyes were drawn to a boar that roamed freely around the grassy knolls that surrounded them. This playing field looked to be designed after the European countryside with its pastures and wildlife though creatures she'd never seen before flew high above her head in the periwinkle sky. She held the rock for a moment when the object began to glow. Curious, she threw it. The woman let out a small yelp of surprise as it struck the boar, causing the creature to squeal in indignation. It turned its eyes onto her, fury burning behind those crimson orbs, before charging.

Without thinking she equipped her Eiki and instinctively held the blade in front of her. The sword began to glow a soft silver as power filtered into it. The dark haired woman stood motionless as she waited for the monster to approach. Heavy hooves thumped against the soft grass—creating a tiny rumble beneath Kagome's own feet. Its crimson eyes flashed in front of her when she pushed the Eiki forward. There were a series of strikes and the green health bar of her foe depleted to nothing. She watched in mild fascination as it shattered into hundreds of blue shards before floating into the nothingness of the sky above. She was starting to like this game more and more.

"Good job!" Kirito commented after having witnessed the woman take down her first opponent. "Although that thing was pretty weak. It'd take several if not dozens of them before you'll be able to level up."

Kagome nodded. Well that was true. Her eyes glanced over the small white screen that displayed in front of her. It showed that she'd earned approximate three hundred experience points from the beast but it'd take close to six thousand before she'd get to level two.

"Holy crap, what skill was that just now?" Ryoutarou asked as he approached her.

Kagome tapped her chin, "I think it was called Linear?"

Kirito nodded, "Yup. You've got a rapier which is a weapon meant for speed. Linear is the first move you'll learn with that blade. Basically you can chain several attacks into one. It's a really quick move with an even quicker Post Motion."

Three pairs of quirked eyebrows egged the ex-beta tester to further explain. "Post Motion is the period after you execute a skill. Think of it this way. When you use a sword skill you go through three stages. The Preparation Motion which charges the skill, the motion itself and then the Post Motion which is a set amount of time where your avatar will be vulnerable to attack. This game keeps fairly true to the turn base system in this regard."

"That's pretty neat!" Souta interjected as a herd of the boar grazed off to the side. His face turned mischievous, "You guys want to see who can get to level two the fastest?" And so the party of four spent much of the afternoon hunting small fries and battling against virtual wildlife. In the end it was Ryoutarou who reached level two first, but only because he managed to take out two boars in a single go when they both got in the way of his single-strike Reave skill.

"You suck." Kagome booed playfully as she slapped the back of his shoulder.

"And you just wish you had my awesome skills." The red head shot back with a cocky smirk.

The dark haired teen turned towards his blond companion, "Have they always been like this?"

The younger Higurashi sibling shrugged, "Dunno. I just met the guy today." It was true too. He'd only met 'Klein' today but from the way he and Kagome were going on, it were as if they were long time friends. His face darkened. He wasn't sure if this was a good development or not.

After another half hour the other three had also reached level two. Although Kirito has pushed himself to the limit by taking out a whole herd of the boar by himself. As a direct result he was now on the verge of reaching level three. He only needed to take down a few more before he'd reach his goal.

The group stopped as the bell tower went off. The sky bled scarlet and an ominous feeling filled the air around them. Kagome moved to Ryoutarou's side. Her Eiki was still gripped tightly in her hand. His hand also held his long, curved blade firmly. The pair shared a cautious look between each other. Something wasn't quite right with this. Before they could blink the group appeared back at the first floor's public forum. The bell's ringing was even louder now—blasting their eardrums with it's powerful sound. Once all the players were gathered a warning sign flashed over them in a dome like shape.

"Ryoutarou…" Kagome started as she stepped closer to him. She reached out and curled her fingers into the cloth of his white sleeve. His own, larger hand covered hers and held it reassuringly.

"I know. Let's just wait and see what happens." The young man stated. He focused his hazel eyes upon the figure slowly taken shape above the bell tower. Pools of crimson liquid reminiscent of blood materialized in the sky above them.

A hooded figured swiftly formed from the mysterious mass.

"Welcome players," A masculine voice greeted them warmly. "I am sure that many of you by now have realized that there is no log out feature. Let me assure that this is not a defect." The group held their breath. Kagome quickly opened up her menu and searched for the log out button only to realize that the figure was indeed correct about it not being there. How had she missed that? Fear began to claw at her chest. Were they stuck here?

"Sword Art Online was designed to be this way." The faceless being continued. "You will not be able to log yourselves out and no one in the outside world will be able to shut down or remove the NerveGear on your head."

"If anyone attempts to do so a transmitter charged microwave will discharge into your skull, destroying your brain and ending your life." Several cries of fear and whispers of incensed disbelief rose from the crowd around them. Kagome held on tighter to Ryoutarou's sleeve as his grip on her hand became stronger.

"That's gotta be load of crap, right?" The red head glanced over to their other two companions. He was looking for affirmation but instead found what he feared the most.

Kirito's face became grim, "No, he's right. The transmitter signals in the head gear work just like microwaves. If the safety is disabled it could fry your brain."

Beside him Souta cringed. What the hell had they all gotten themselves into? There was no way this was real? Was it? His falsely emerald eyes searched out his sister's azure ones. Kagome gave him a fearful look. In this world she was out of her element. She was not the confident miko capable of bringing down foes a thousand times stronger than herself here. In this world she was just a normal person with normal abilities. He knew why she feared and that made him all the more determined to teach her how to become strong in a world like this. She could be one of the most powerful players if she simply learned how to apply herself.

"Couldn't someone just cut the power?" Ryoutarou continued in his questions. This couldn't be happening. It just wasn't possible.

Kirito shook his head, "No, the NerveGear has an internal battery. Even if someone did unplug it the equipment would still run perfectly fine. There's not getting around it."

The being continued before the others could finish their conversation. "Out of the ten thousand players that first started Sword Art Online there now two hundred and thirteen less. Despite multiple warnings, several families attempted to remove the head gear. As a result those players were deleted from both Aincrad and the real world."

"That's a load of bullshit!" Ryoutarou roared furiously. Others shouted down their fury as well while Kagome and Souta listened on quietly. So this was to become their new reality?

"It's safe to assume that by now the risk of a NerveGear being removed is slim to none. Let this be a small measure of comfort as you go about trying to clear the game." Pictures of those who'd already died floated in small screens around what was now known as the Game Master. "Please note that as of this moment there will no longer be a way to revive a person once they've died. If your HP drops to zero then your avatar will be deleted from the system forever. The NerveGear will also simultaneously destroy your brain."

"To leave this world you must clear the game. If you are able to beat the boss at the lowest part of each dungeon then a new floor will be unlocked. Once you clear the final boss on floor one hundred you will have officially defeated the game and be returned home." If Ryoutarou wasn't angry before then he was seething by now.

"All one hundred floors? That's impossible. Not even the beta testers made it that high!" He growled from beside her. Kagome tried to calm him but to no avail. Although she was rather nervous herself. She looked down and noticed how much her hands were shaking beneath the red head's strong grip. When did she start trembling? The dark haired woman didn't know. Memories of golden eyes and gleaming fangs flashed at the front of her mind. The young woman quickly shook her head. She couldn't think about that right now.

"Last but not least. I've included an item in your storage that you might find useful. Please, have a look."

Curious, the ex-miko opened up her items screen and noticed the one called 'mirror'. She didn't remember it being there before. Perhaps she'd missed it? With a hesitant swipe of her finger, she selected the item. A small mirror appeared in her hand. Kagome cocked her head to the side. Well that was weird. This avatar did look similar to her but not quite perfect. The cheeks were too rounded and her eyes were a bit too far apart.

Her head swiveled to the side quickly as Ryoutarou let out a sound of surprise. His body became engulfed in light but as she tried to ask what happened, she noticed her own avatar becoming over taken in the white glow as well. When her vision returned to normal she looked back into the mirror.

Instead of the avatar's reflection, it was her own face staring back at her.

"You guys okay?" The taller male inquired as he turned back to face the others in their group. Thankful to see him back to his normal appearance, Kagome nodded and gave Ryoutarou's arm a reassuring pat. He let out a deep sigh of relief.

Kirito stared on in shock, "Who are you?" He questioned, his eyes drawn to the odd pair in front of him. The hard lines of the teen's his face had softened up into ones of boyish youthfulness while his eyes became more rounded and slightly brighter.

"It's us." Kagome started, "We've just been reverted to our actual appearance." She looked over at her brother. Unfortunately for him since he had chosen an avatar that was so vastly different from his own stature, the clothes he'd chosen were now fitting him loosely with his sleeves falling nearly three inches past the tips of his fingers.

"Damn, this sucks. I liked that avatar too." The teen whined as he brushed his hand through his now black hair.

His sister scowled at him, "I think there are other more important things we need to focus on right now." All other complains were immediately silenced.

It was quickly deduced that the calibration of the NerveGear had saved the image of their appearance and used that data to derive this change. Souta, Kagome, Ryoutarou and Kirito turned their attention back to the Game Master. There was one last question that they still needed answered.

"I'm sure many you are wonder why? Why would Kayaba Akihito, the developer of Sword Art Online, do such a thing?" A deafening silence overcame the crowd. "Ultimately my goal was a simple one. I wanted to control the fate of a world of my own design. As you can see I have achieved my goal." The hooded figure turned its black, faceless opening towards them. It appeared to be focusing on one of them in particular but Kagome couldn't make out who exactly.

"This marks the end of the tutorial and the official launch of Sword Art Online. Players, I wish you the best of luck." The hooded figure dissipated in a cloud of red smoke and digital snow. The scarlet dome of warning signs quickly flashed and disappeared as if it had never existed.

Within seconds, everything fell into chaos.


	3. Madness

Disclaimer: I don't own jack!

_Pairing: Klein/Kagome_

_Suggested Listening_ : Crossfire by Stephen

"The quality of decision is like the well-timed swoop of a falcon which enables it to strike and destroy its victims." (Tzu 24)*

_**Broken Stone** _

**Chapter Three** : Madness

It was sheer insanity. People were screaming. Children were crying. Everyone was running and scared out of their minds. Kagome pressed herself closer to Ryoutarou. Bodies moved all around them, pushing into them and threatening to pull the group apart.

"This way!" Kirito called out, motioning for the others to follow. The others did so instinctively, pushing themselves further away from the chaotic crowd. Once they gathered into an alleyway that fed into the shopping district, Kirito turned to them. "Listen, in an online game like this there's only a limited supply of money and experience you can earn before it's all hunted dry. We should get moving to the next village before it gets too populated." The teen suggested seriously. Souta had to agree with him. He was right in thinking that. It'd be their chance to get a head start on the other players and stay above on the leveling curve. He tilted his head and glanced over at his sister. Her brows furrowed in concern.

"But there were a few others we were supposed to meet up with.." She trailed off, looking to Ryoutarou. Had they agreed to just be the two of them meeting today she probably wouldn't have had a problem with following Kirito. However now that she knew that there were others waiting for her, Ryoutaru and Souta she couldn't bring herself to just leave them there.

Ryoutarou gave Kirito an apologetic smile, "Thanks for all of your help man but I've got to turn you down. I've got a few friends waiting for us back at the plaza. I can't just leave them, you know?" He struck out his free hand and offered it to the teen. "Can't ask a man I just met to risk his life for me."

The teen took it and gave him a parting shake.

"Are you sure?" Kirito inquired, anxious for the new friends he'd just met.

"I'll be fine. You just focus on yourself. That goes for the two of you as well." He turned his attention to Kagome and her brother. "You two should decide for yourselves what you want to do."

The dark haired woman sucked in a deep breath through her teeth. The fingers holding Ryoutarou's sleeve curled even tighter into the fabric. Her azure eyes moved to meet her brother's matching ones. His foot edged towards Kirito but his expression spoke of a nervousness that was palatable. She was aware that following this newcomer would be the best bet for them to level up quickly and get an edge. However she felt herself opposed to leaving Ryoutarou's side. Besides, wouldn't it be better to group up into a large guild instead of going solo?

"Thanks for the offer Kirito, but we'll decline as well." Souta stated. He'd seen the way his sister glanced between himself and the red head. As much as he wanted to go, their safest option was to band together and see the game to its end with support. Being reckless now would only bring about their demise. "Go on ahead. We'll catch up with you once we reach the other village." The dark haired teen smirked as he clasped the slightly younger male on the shoulder. "Just friend me and I'll help you out any time you need it."

Kirito gave a weak smirk, "We'll see about that. Who knows, maybe it'll be you who needs the help." The teens offered their goodbyes as the crowd's frantic cries grew in volume. They needed to find the others quickly. Kirito turned on the ball of his heel. His back went rigid and his shoulders squared. Kagome heard the distinct intake of a breath. No words came and suddenly only the sound of the beta tester's feet running across the cobble stone was all they could hear. The trio watched as the kind stranger disappeared from view. The dark haired woman quickly scanned the crowd.

"Where were you supposed to meet them at?"

Her companion grit his teeth, "We hadn't specified where. I've got an idea though. Check it out," He pointed towards a pathway that cut through the heart of the plaza. It was twenty times the size of the alleyway they were in currently and lined with buildings with exposed corridors and high archways. "Those are called Inns here. According to a few of the other players they're the safest place to be. No harm can be done to your avatar if you're checked into one. The others probably managed to get that information as well and are likely going to be on their way to check into one. From what I heard there are two main Inns that you can go to that are free to use. We'll search there first."

Kagome nodded, "Sounds good to me."

Souta followed behind the two, his azure eyes watching keenly as Ryoutarou slipped his hand down and grasped his sister's. The gesture was far from what one would call romantic. The man's grip was tight and engulfed his older sibling's hand. The only goal was to lead her and prevent them from being separated in the mass of madness that surrounded them. Still, there was an undercurrent of protectiveness there that shocked the teen. He watched silently as the pair made their way slowly through the crowd. Weaving and maneuvering their shoulders to avoid any physical contact with the people there. The outraged voices echoed around them.

"You can't do this!"

"What about my family!"

"Screw this!" Something crashed against the ground followed by a pained moan.

Souta picked up his pace as violence threatened to break out. The road was hard beneath his feet. The cracks from the age-worn design of the cobblestone threatened to trip him with their uneven angles.

Kagome's free hand shot out and tried to grab onto her brother's. The very tips of her fingers brushed against the back of his hand before grasping air. She cast a worried glance over her shoulder at him. It was at that moment that he realized how far behind he'd gotten. In the few brief seconds he'd contemplated the growing relationship between his sister and Ryoutarou, a few people had tried to push their way between them. One of which was a burly man with a curled mustache and a face flushed from his alcohol intake. The man scowled, sweat beading across his brow.

"Who the fuck do you think you are?" The stranger growled, "Get the fuck out of my way!" The teen found himself roughly shoved away from the only family he had in this game. Thick hands grabbed him by the throat. Surprisingly the action didn't cause him any pain. He could still breath but the sensation of something heavy holding onto him was uncomfortable. Realizing that his attempt to threaten the boy wasn't getting anywhere, the man lifted Souta from the ground held him up in the air until his feet dangled a full foot above the solid surface. Azure eyes glared down at the one holding him. The mustached-man's eyes were wild and blood shot. It was obvious that he had no clue of what was happening around him and was simply acting out the frustration he felt. Still, the fifteen-year-old kicked his feet and tried to hit him in the stomach. That didn't give the bastard the excuse to turn on him. The mob mentality that had taken over the plaza was frightening.

Kagome immediately turned on the man, withdrawing her Eiki from its sheath. Black strands of hair fluttered in the small gust of wind that whipped through the open forum. Azure eyes flared like a pair of blue flames.

"Get your hands off of him!" She snarled, pressing the tip of the blade to his neck. The drunken stranger gave her a brief glare. His hands tightened over Souta's throat. She felt her anger spike at the action. Images of Kohaku's limp body being held by a clawed hand flashed in her mind. The thick feeling of something warm and wet covered her hands: Blood. Though her eyes looked and saw no such substance upon the pale flesh of her fingers, she could still feel it as if it were there. Echoes of pained screams from both the past and present resounded in her mind. She had to stop this before it was too late. She had to save her brother.

There was no warning when the sharp edge of her sword tried to pierce the skin of the man's throat. No blood was drawn. Souta fell to the ground with a sharp 'thud' and he whipped his head around to see the stranger be blown back several feet. He landed flat on his back, crashing into several wooden barrels meant to hold alcohol. The objects lit up a bright blue before shattering upon the impact. A stunned expression crossed his face. With a sharp moan, he pushed himself up on his elbows and tried to stand.

Kagome took a shuttering breath and tried to relieve the images from her mind. That was a different time period. This wasn't supposed to be the kill or be killed era of the Sengoku Jidai. She glared down at the person groaning from the impact of her attack. He wasn't a youkai or a bloodthirsty bandit; he was just a fool that couldn't make heads or tails of what was going on around him. She sheathed her Eiki. He wasn't worth the effort it'd take to teach him a well-deserved lesson in manners. Turning her back to the stranger she helped Souta up from the spot in which he'd landed unceremoniously.

The younger sibling flashed her a grateful smile before his face turned fearful.

"Look out!" Souta cried, trying to push his sister out of the way of a surprise attack. The drunkard had stood and drew a small kodachi blade with a jagged curve from his sleeve. He charged forward on unsteady feet, his weapon aimed for the young woman's back.

Before the two could blink, Ryoutarou blocked the attack with his own sword and pushed the man back to the ground. Using the blunt end of his hilt, he quickly knocked the stranger unconscious.

"C'mon, people are starting to lose their minds. We need to get going before it gets dark." The red head's voice was strained with tension. He didn't like where this was going. Not one single bit. At the very least he was able to take comfort in the fact that most damage could be prevented in the town. Otherwise they would've run into a lot of trouble today. But what did that mean for the future? How many others would blindly attack fellow players in a state of madness? That thought left him anxious. His hand quickly grabbed onto Kagome's and led her down the familiar path towards the main Inn. It was called _Sabine_ and by far the most populated, if the plethora of multicolored shirts dotting the entrance and reflecting in the sunset's evening glow were anything to go by. He'd rather be away from crowds at the moment but it was the most likely place they'd be at.

The trio entered into the foyer of the oversized Inn. Thick grey stone dotted the walls as a heavy scent of must filled the air. Crudely made wooden benches stood in parallel rows in the waiting area. Kagome stopped and pointed towards a group of five, familiar men huddled together in one of the pews closest to the door.

"Over there!" She waved her arms to catch the others' attention. The young woman had recognized them as the group that had stood with her during the release. Knowing that she'd met these people before made her feel slightly better about the situation.

Ryoutarou quickly jogged over to them, still hanging onto her hand and pulling them along.

"You guys!" He called out worriedly.

Five pairs of matching anxious expressions turned onto them, "Klein!"

"We were worried something happened to you out there!" The man with the parted mustache started. The screen name 'Dynamm' appeared by his cursor. "What do you think we should do now?" He continued, frantically glancing between the red head and the doorway.

Ryoutarou raised his hands, "I've got a few ideas but first we should get checked in. Have you guys secured a room for yourselves?" They nodded in unison. "Good, I'll need to get us one too here soon. We'll talk in the morning but for now we need some rest." He glanced over his shoulder at the pair of siblings trailing behind him. "You guys can wait here. I'll be right back." Kagome nodded while Souta stared up at the pitched ceilings. Dark wood beams traced across the sharp angles of the roofline. It contrasted quite nicely with the cool grey of the stone surrounding it.

The teen watched as his sister quickly took up a conversation with the others.

"How're you guys holding up?" She asked with all sincerity. A tall man with a youthful face rubbed his index finger and thumb over his eyebrows.

"We managed to do a little bit of leveling before all of this. Though we'll still have a long way to go if we want to make it to the other villages safely." He stated simply.

The dark haired woman nodded, "Yeah we pretty much came to the same conclusion." She sat in between Dynamm and the youthful one. She glanced over and read the name 'Harry One'. "I think if we're able to stick together we should be able to get through safely even with our lower levels."

The teen watched as his sister slid into an easy conversation with these men. It were as if she'd were as familiar with them as Ryoutarou was. He couldn't help but feel like an outsider in this new grouping. Kagome looked up and quickly waved for him to approach. She scooted over to allow him enough space to sit next to her. Shrugging nonchalantly, he took the spot without a fuss. He didn't speak much but listened as they told their stories of the day's events.

Ryoutarou returned with two sets of silver keys grasped between his fingers. He took one of them and handed it off to Kagome.

"I wasn't able to get us all separate rooms, so I managed to bunk you and Shita a double queen room." Thankful that the older man hadn't used his real name, the teen nodded. The red head took up a spot by a man with high cheekbones. The man went by the screen name Issin from what Souta could tell.

"We'll meet up here tomorrow at dawn. We'll discuss all of our options then. Does that sound good to you guys?" Hazel eyes stared at the group with a sincere amount of concern. The others agreed quickly. They'd had more than enough adventure for one day. A good night's rest was what was needed at this point.

Most of the group got up save for the trio. The crowd around them had mostly dissipated by this point. Only a low, fearful chatter emanated from those around them. Ryoutarou rested his clasped hands over his knees. He closed his eyes and sighed.

"Sorry for dragging you guys into this." He looked up to give them an apologetic smile, "You really didn't have to follow me back here." Souta fought the urge to scoff. What other choice was there? Sure following Kirito might have been a good idea but the better one was to form an alliance with a large group at this point. What was the guy even apologizing for?

"We chose to come on our own free will. So don't worry about that." Kagome answered simply as she toyed with the fabric of her sleeve. Her azures eyes looked up to meet hazel ones. "The main concern is what to do in the morning. We'll need to level up quickly. Every other player will also have the same idea so we'll need to find a good hunting spot."

The older male agreed. The only problem was that he didn't know where to start. He moved his hand and casually scrolled through his menu to pull up his map. It was just a basic information map of which roads led to where. The icons for treasure and the intensity of the monsters were not yet applied. As they explored Aincrad, the information would update automatically. He rubbed his forehead in agitation. Surprises were the last thing any of them needed right now.

Kagome pressed her hand to the map and pointed out a small, segregated area.

"There," The tip of her nail touched the screen. It flickered briefly then zoomed in. The location as small and had a single road that fed into and out of it. The clearing was completely surrounded by the outlying forest from the pastures and it seemed cut off from the rest of the playing fields. "That's going to be our ticket to getting our levels higher."

The red head thought over this suggestion, "But how do you know there will even be monsters in that area?" He questioned.

Kagome's eyes glazed over somewhat, "Monsters like dark places. Areas where they can hide and no one will ever see their claws coming for them is the best place." She pointed the spot again, "That's why that is the best place to start. It should have plenty of creatures we can hunt here. It's perfect for such beasts to hide." The teen spoke nothing but he knew that she wasn't speaking from gaming experience. No, she was talking about the _real_ monsters that had hunted her in the past and sought to obtain her power. Azure eyes narrowed at that tiny little clearing in the map. If Kayaba Akihito had been as thorough in the development of Sword Art Online as he believed, then he knew that Kagome's prediction would come true. The only question was what _kind_ of monster would they run into? He sighed. That thought scared him more than he cared to admit.

Ryoutarou narrowed his eyes at the location. He didn't like it very much. There wouldn't much room to maneuver or flee if things got hairy but it was the best place to search for experience and items. Kagome was right on this one. He tapped the area twice, causing a scarlet circle to surround the location. The action saved the precise point onto his map. Come tomorrow morning, they would find out exactly was hidden away in that little area.

He exited out of the playing menu and looked up at the siblings once more. Dark circles had encompassed the space beneath their eyes. They both looked tired and emotionally exhausted from the day. The red head smiled at them kindly.

"Alright we'll set out at first light. Although, let's get some food first. I'm pretty sure you guys are probably hungry after all of this." He stood and offered Kagome his hand. She took it and rose to her feet as well. Looking over the pair watched Souta's reaction. The teen wanted to deny the invitation and return to their room. Not because he wasn't hungry but because he really didn't want to hang around anyone else for much longer. His patience was wearing thin after the day's events. Still, seeing his sister's concerned expression made him follow stand as well. The dark haired male shoved his hands in his pockets and walked after them.

They meandered through oversized hallways and roughly floored rooms until they reached one of the two courtyards of the _Sabine_. Patches of flora and fauna dotted the landscape with a singular cobble stone path that cut through the greenery like a serpent in a river. The scent of meat and mead hung heavily in the air. It was ominously quiet save for a few sobs and incoherent ramblings of those who'd gone into shock. The beautiful imagery of the garden contrasted harshly against the somber portrait of people huddling together and crying out their fears. How absurd this world was.

The trio paused as they passed through the arched threshold of the Inn's restaurant. It was a simple design with a bar and several tables meant to seat parties of four. The tables themselves were sparsely populated but the bar was packed with players seeking to retreat from the horrors of the world that lay outside the Inn.

Ryoutarou took up the seat of a four-top table close to the exit. Kagome sat across from him while Souta took up his place beside her. A Non Player Character approached and quickly took their orders.

"Since the guys and I were in a guild before, we had decided to try it out again here." The red head started as the server placed glasses of water before them. "I know you two chose to follow me here but I wanted to ask," He leaned forward and looked the sibling seriously, "Did you want to join up with us? You don't have to if you don't want to but I figured I'd might as well put the suggestion out there."

Kagome glanced over at Souta. He shrugged, already knowing what she was going to ask. To be honest the decision had been made the moment they chose to follow Ryoutarou instead of Kirito. Sure they could easily just part ways after a few days of hunting for experience and supplies together but what would be the point in that?

"We'll join." The young woman smiled. Being in a larger group brought her a bit more comfort. She had been used to youkai. She knew how to handle threats in the real world. In fact, she had built in defense mechanisms that could protect her against such dangers. However here she didn't have those fallbacks. She was just a normal person in this world. It was almost like being thrown back into the Feudal Era again, only without the use of her powers or an Inu Hanyou to rely on.

Azure eyes glanced up to meet Ryoutarou's. Instead, she had her brother and a man that seemed to be guided by a noble sense of duty. She couldn't afford to be the weak link this time. She needed to get strong and quickly. At the very least, she took comfort in the fact that the avatar allowed her the use of her body. Even if she didn't have her powers, the ex-miko could still rely on the martial arts she'd learned in the two years since leaving the Sengoku Jidai. The dark haired woman fully believed that those skills would come in handy very soon. Especially if the drunkard's reaction earlier this evening was anything to go by. The bouts of madness and despair were bound to increase as time went on.

The red head let out a sigh of relief, "Well that's good news then. Although we need to get Souta some better gear." He turned his attention to the withdrawn teenager, "You'll need it before we hit the field tomorrow. Feel like going into town with me in the morning?"

Souta nodded, "Yeah, sure thing. Though you get to pay. You hogged all those boar earlier so I got screwed out of the cash rewards." He crossed his arms over his chest and glared over at the older male.

Ryoutarou laughed, "Oh so that's what you're so pissed at me about? If it means anything, I'm sorry." He rubbed the back of his head and tried to take their minds off of the seriousness that was unfolding.

"Yeah, yeah sure you are." He pinned the man with a dark glare. "Next time it'll be my dust that you'll be eating."

Kagome relaxed somewhat as the three fell into a casual conversation. It mostly involved Ryoutarou and Souta throwing casual barbs at each other. Although where the older man was just being playful, her brother seemed to have an edge of competitiveness that only came out when he was playing a game. A light smile tugged at her lips. Even if it was only a little bit she was grateful for this tiny light of normalcy that seemed to return to their lives. The young woman briefly wondered if moments like this would become the normal or if they were destined to live in despair here.

Azure eyes turned up towards the half-moon lining the virtual sky above. Three plates of crudely made stake was presented before them. She looked back at her sibling and the stranger that had helped them so much in such a short time. For everyone's sake, she hoped that nights like these would continue to prosper in this false reality.

**Works Cited:**

** Tzu, Sun. _The Art of War_. Trans. Lionel Giles. New York: Barnes and Noble Books, 2003. Print.

 

 


	4. Strength of Fear

Disclaimer: I don't own jack!

_Pairing: Klein/Kagome_

_Suggested Listening_ : I Can Get It Back (Instrumental) by Zack Hemsey

"He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight." (Tzu 17)*

_**Broken Stone** _

**Chapter Four** : Strength of Fear

Souta pressed forward as his legs threatened to cave beneath his weight. The good news was that even walking around the town like this was strengthening the parameters for his physical strength. The bad news was that he was dog tired after spending two hours last night shooting the shit with Ryoutarou at the restaurant. The teen glared at said red haired man's back. The bastard had woken him up by yanking the blankets from him and _literally_ rolling him out of bed. Apparently Kagome had let him in this morning when he hadn't got out of bed like he was supposed to. So she let the man do his job as the pseudo leader of their little group and kicked his ass into gear. Although Souta was none too please about waking up on the floor and shivering from the AC that was being blasted by Kagome. She'd always had that nasty habit.

"Hurry it up or we'll be late hitting the fields!" The older man commented as he threw a glance over his shoulder. Their shopping trip had gone off without a hitch and Ryoutarou upheld his end of the deal by purchasing the equipment for him. Now Souta found himself dressed in a simple blue haori and black hakama. His Krieger was still tied tightly at his waist with a silver sash. The red head also thought it prudent to get him some light defensive gear so unlike before, he now had a breastplate and some shoulder armor to protect him. It was a kind gesture but one that the teen was quickly finding to be a normal habit for this man.

"Yeah, yeah I'm coming." The dark haired male grunted. To be honest, he wasn't exactly sure he wanted to go to the field today. They needed to gain experience of course but that didn't necessarily mean that they would be safe. In fact, the more people out hunting the more dangerous the situation would get. Azure eyes narrowed at the cobble stone path beneath his feet. The area they were going to would likely be filled with monsters unlike the ones out in the pastures. Things could get ugly very quickly if they weren't careful.

The trip back to the _Sabine_ had for the most part been a quiet one. Ryoutarou had been unusually silent and forlorn. It seemed that their new 'leader' had as many fears about this plan as he did but they did not voice them. The teen glanced up as the familiar building came into sight. There were significantly less people crowding around the Inn than there were last night. As the two approached they saw the whole group standing outside already geared up and ready to go.

"You're late!" Dynamm protested, shooting Ryoutarou a sharp glare.

The older male laughed nervously, "Yeah sorry _Aylard's Armory_ was a bit busy this morning. It seems we weren't the only ones with the same idea." He smiled and rubbed the back of his head, "You guys all ready to go though?"

"We've been waiting around all morning for you guys. Now come on, we're burning daylight!" Kagome teased as she approached the two. Ryoutarou smiled down at her. It was decided quickly that for the most efficient way to level up they'd need to party up into two groups of four as they couldn't form a single party larger than six members. So Kagome and Souta split off into a group with the men known as Dale and Issin. Dale was a tank type of fighter. He was hefty set with curly black hair and carried a long blade that was nearly the length of his entire body. His build and equipment were solely meant as a means to deliver as much punishment to his foes as possible. Speed and accuracy were not part of the equation for his character type. Although he did have a lighthearted disposition and quickly bonded with Souta and Kagome during their short walk out of the Town of Beginnings. Issin, whose high cheekbones reminded Souta of someone in dire need of more food, remained quiet throughout the duration of their walk. The man was equipped with a standard long blade and even more basic equipment. It'd be a toss up as to what he'd choose to specialize in after this hunt. The man's eyes would dart between Kagome and Ryoutarou before shifting to the ground. It was clear that he was nervous about this outing.

Ryoutarou took up the front of the group with Dynamm, the youthful faced Harry One, and Kunimittz who was a dark haired man with a bit more tuft of hair on his chin than Ryoutarou. They were conversing amongst themselves about what tactics would be best to use and when best to use them. Kagome skipped forward and took a spot by the red head's side. She gave him a reassuring glance before intertwining her fingers with his larger ones. It was an action that was becoming more and more common for them.

The man smiled back at her. His own hand engulfed her own. He was briefly surprised at how much of her skin he could feel beneath his touch. Like Kagome, this game was his first full dive as well. He'd only gotten his NerveGear about a week prior to the release. Now he was beginning to regret that decision. Although, he glanced down at the woman by his side. Perhaps not everything was a waste.

"We'll be fine so long as we keep our groups close to one another." The dark haired woman started as she peered over the crowd of people filing out of the Safe Zone. Several parties of players dotted the green pastures—their clothing creating a canvas of multiple colors dancing across the landscape. She paused somewhat as a party of three that fought a few feet away from them suddenly cried out when a boar slammed into their leader's sword. A billow of steam exhaled from the creature's mouth and its scarlet eyes gleamed in righteous fury. The leader, a young man still in the prime of his teenage years, grit his teeth and dug his heels into the soft earth beneath his feet.

"I won't lose to you!" The stranger growled. The wild pig shoved his blade away with a rough toss of his tusk. The male stumbled backwards and was swiftly impaled by the creature's ivory bone-like substance of its tusk. The man's partners backed away in fear as his avatar lit up a light shade of blue.

"What the hell?" He questioned before shattering into several pieces. The shards floated into the air before disappearing entirely into the periwinkle abyss. The pair left behind cried out once more and ran past them back into the Town of Beginnings.

Ryoutarou stood wide-eyed and watched as the boar's eyes locked onto them. It was then the realization hit. Had they done one thing wrong yesterday, then they could've easily ended up like that boy. His free hand clenched at his side. That would not happen. Not to him nor anyone of his friends. He'd make damn sure of it. With practiced motions, he summoned his curved blade. Kagome moved away and allowed him to size up his foe. Having already leveled up, it was much easier to use his Reave skill than when he initially tried. Also, it now only took half as much time to recover from the Post Motion vulnerability. He put his arm out to the side and motioned for the others to wait behind him. They paused in their tracks and watched as he quickly drew his blade. The man's stance shifted, his legs parted and his heels dug into the soft patch of grassy earth. The boar charged forward with its head thrown back and dangerous tusks aimed right for his stomach.

Ryoutarou pushed forward and impaled his curved blade into the heart of the creature. There was no gore nor blood but he could feel his sword cut straight through the automated monster. It flickered before shattering into the air as well. He sighed before turning his attention back to the people who were now counting on him. The young man's face pulled into a serious expression. His hazel eyes drifted from one friend to the next, hesitating ever so slightly as he reached the Higurashi siblings.

"Listen up, from here on out we need to take precautions." He began sternly, "No one is to leave a Safe Zone without forming a party of at least two other people. New areas should be explored with the rest of us to ensure safety in numbers." There was a murmur of agreement. "To clarify now, all item drops will belong to the person who deals the final blow. Same goes for money but experience is automatically shared so there should be no issue there. Are these terms agreeable to you?" The men glanced amongst each other while Kagome and Souta merely shrugged. She didn't care much about items or money. All she cared about was keeping her brother safe.

"Good, we should get going before the fields gets clogged with other players. It's only a matter of time before the area gets discovered." Ryoutarou continued. The eight players made their way in silence. The cobble stone path that had fed from the Town of Beginnings to the pastures had split off into several dirt-covered roads. The tell tale hoof marks of the boar were imprinted all over the paths. It was such a tiny detail but one that left Kagome stunned at the level of thought that went behind this game. It seemed that every time she turned around there was something else that surprised her. A gust of wind brushed past and she felt the coolness of the breeze upon the palm of her hand. It was close to the real world but didn't quite flow as freely as she was used to feeling. A small smile touched her lips.

Ryoutarou tugged on her hand gently and encouraged her to keep walking. Even though they'd already trekked further away from the Safe Zone than they had the other day, the fields were still teeming with other players. The sound of swords clashing together, cries of frustration and even an occasional whoop of celebration resonated around them. Her azure eyes focused on the dark line of trees lining the border between the pasture and the forest that led to the other villages. Out of the people currently playing only a small handful were brave enough to breach the threshold there—fearful of the levels of the monsters that lurked in the shadows.

As they closed in on their destination, she pointed towards a tiny path barely big enough to fit two people shoulder to shoulder that fed into the darkened woodland.

"That's the point of entry." She stated, dropping her free hand while the other held tighter onto Ryoutarou's. "Once we go in there won't be any turning back. Are you ready?" She glanced over at the other members of their party. Five pairs of anxious eyes stared back at her. This wasn't supposed to be like the Feudal Era but here she was, leading a group of men into unknown territory where death was lurking behind every tree and upturned rock. She sucked in a deep breath and tried not to sigh. This wasn't what the Modern Era was supposed to be like, but because of one man's delusions it now was. As of this moment, she knew that she'd have to deal with the fallout the only way she knew how. Azure eyes hardened as she glanced up at her comrades with determination burning deep within her soul.

"Listen, I know that this is frightening for a lot of you right now." Kagome started her speech. "Everyone here is scared but you know what?" She questioned, garnering the attention of the anxious men. Those who had been looking down at the ground suddenly snapped to attention. "Sometimes fear is the driving factor a person needs to become stronger." She waited as they glanced up at her curiously. "Being afraid isn't a sign that you're weak. It's a sign that you're aware of how dangerous a situation is." She released Ryoutarou's hand and stepped forward. Memories of her time in the Sengoku Jidai returned in full force. Images of gleaming fangs, glass-like claws and scarlet blood poured into her mind. Over and over again she'd seen that same sight, felt that familiar rush of fear. Day after day. Night after night. Rinse and repeat. Those were the times of the Feudal Era. Constant bloodshed. Fear of death. Most of all, the deception of those she once thought loyal. It was a time of greed and despair. A time that was now repeating itself within this game of death.

She had become a warrior amongst the legends but that wasn't what she had wanted. It hadn't been duty or even a fierce sense of righteousness that drove her on for over three years. No, it was the utterly instinctual fear of death that had caused Kagome to keep pressing on. If not the fear for her own death, but then for the deaths of those she loved. "You need fear to become strong. So embrace it. Relish in it, and then learn from it. Use your fear to keep yourself in motion. Keep moving forward until the day you can look back and not fear the monsters anymore." She withdrew her Eiki and pointed it towards the air. "From this day forward we are not just merely people playing a game. We are survivors. We are fighters. Remember that with every chill of fear you feel."

The dark haired woman sheathed her Eiki, aware of the sudden rush of energy that now sparked between the members. Dynamm and Dale appeared to be the most inspired as their slow pace increased into a brisk walk. Issin's eyes hardened while Kunimittz grasped the hilt of his blade. They were ready.

Ryoutarou took up the front guard with Kagome. They filed in pairs of two with Souta and Dynamm taking the rear guard. The first thing the ex-miko noticed was the lack of sound. The area was utterly quiet. This fact alone set off all of her warning bells. The only time wildlife grew this silent was when a danger was nearby. Azure eyes narrowed onto the clearing ahead. It was now certain that what they would face was going to be a lot tougher than even she imagined.

Boughs of the trees crisscrossed in thick weaving patterns high above their heads; creating a thicket of darkness that prevented any light from feeding down onto the ground below. She was forced to squint until her eyes adjusted to the darkness in order to see the dirt road just beneath her feet. A tiny, two-tailed lizard skittered across their path. Its eyes blinked and a forked tongue shot out of its mouth. The tails flicked before it scrambled away a swiftly as it came. A chill went down Kagome's spine. Something was wrong. She placed her hand on Ryoutarou's sleeve.

"We should go ahead and get fully equipped. The monster will be just up ahead." She released him and swiftly turned her attention to her menu. She missed the way his hazel eyes watched her in curiosity. It was so strange. It were almost as if she had been in a situation like this before. His brows furrowed. That couldn't be possible, could it? Sure he supposed that she'd might have experience if she were a veteran but she just didn't seem like the type when he met her a couple of days ago. The red head sighed and quickly set to work on equipping all of his strongest weapons and armor that he had. He really needed to focus right now. He couldn't afford to be distracted during the fight. His gaze flicked over to the friends who'd follow him here—their lives depended on it.

They waited until the rest confirmed that they were prepared. There was no rush to enter the clearing. Instead the group of eight slowly piled in two at a time. Kagome and Ryoutarou took the center, their heads swiveling this way and that, surveying the area for any danger. The hair on the back of the ex-miko's neck rose as the tell tale sound of insect-like legs skittering around echoed in the tiny clearing. Souta pulled up beside her; his azure eyes watching the thick horizon of black-trunked trees for any sign of movement.

A tiny, inhuman hiss started up from the wildlife that surrounded them. Kagome raised her Rapier and waited with bated breath. The long lost burn of adrenaline flared to life beneath the skin of her flesh. She'd forgotten how intense a fight could be. The group slowly backed into one another, each person facing a different direction. Ryoutarou's shoulder brushed with hers. His hazel eyes darkened with fear and determination. Kagome noted how white the skin of his knuckles turned from the grip he'd had on his curved blade.

They stilled when the nearly inaudible hisses grew in intensity. Kagome shifted her arm upon her blade, her eyes focusing on the road cutting through the pack of unnaturally dark-colored trees. Others did the same; their swords directed towards the darkness that shadowed their exit. Souta opened his mouth, but shut it with a click when Ryoutarou placed a finger on his lips, his shoulders tightening.

Branches cracked from above then the weight of something heavy crashed to the ground, leaving them only a few precious seconds to escape the slamming of thin frames of legs and a swipe of a giant scythe. The group dispersed quickly, rolling away to the far reaches of the clearing. Kagome was the first to recover and swiftly aimed her attack, Linear, at the head of the beast.

Her eyes took in the form of the creature they were to face. Beneath the cursor was the title 'Mantis Scythe' and the number seven. Sweat beaded her brow. It was a level seven monster compared to their level two baseline. The insect threw its head back, releasing another blood curdling hiss. Light shimmered ominously across the silver blade of its forearms. Souta cried out as the creature aimed directly for him. He quickly dove out of the way and cringed as the attack nicked the side of his shoulder; causing the armor around it to shatter into several hundred pieces.

His sibling quickly rushed to his aid. With a valiant leap she drove her attack into the monster's skull. The health bar dipped a quarter, though it still remained green. Her avatar stilled, now vulnerable to attack due to the Post Motion.

"Switch!" She called frantically as the scythe came down again. Souta and Dale quickly moved and brought their blades to guard against the attack. Tiny sparks flew from the contact of iron against iron. Ryoutarou dashed across the grassland and slashed the Mantis across its midsection. The health bar dropped into the yellow at the halfway point. It was Dynamm that attacked next, pushing past the red head and plunging his long blade into the armored chest. Yellow faded into red as Issin flanked from the other side. The man's eyes hardened as he ran forward. He quickly dashed to the side and ducked beneath the soft underbelly of the monster. With a battle cry he dealt the final blow. The Mantis Scythe's health bar disappeared entirely and with it, the creature exploded into a mass of blue shards.

The group panted as the rewards were distributed. Kagome let out a sigh of relief as the number of her level increased to four. Well, it was better than nothing. She glanced over at Ryoutarou and found him looking up at the sky with a relieved expression. It several more minutes before the others were ready to continue on again. Clearing after clearing they faced monsters that averaged between level five and level seven. By the end of it all, Kagome had raised her level to eight while Ryoutarou was pushing nine. The rest of their group hovered between level six and level seven. Their progress was slow and tedious but altogether necessary.

"We should probably get back to the _Sabine_. It'll be night soon." Their pseudo leader commented, glancing up at the ever-darkening forest. The others readily agreed.

Kagome let out a sigh of relief as the two parties finally managed to break away from the forest back into familiar pastures. As suspected, the boar were now nowhere in sight. All evidence of their existence were nearly wiped out save for the spare hoof print or two. Azure eyes snapped to attention when she heard the raucous laughter of a large group. They were close to twenty strong and closing in fast on their battle weary team.

Moonlight now lit the crisscrossing dirt paths that lead back to the Town of Beginnings. Tiny stars dotted the sky above them and silver light dimly reflected upon their armor. She hesitated, pausing in step at the shading of the incoming strangers cursors.

"Do you see that?" Kagome inquired, not so subtly pointing at the group of twenty that was swiftly approaching them. The cursors above their head were a slightly different color than normal. Not only that but the icons indicated that they were made up of five parties of four members each. Their sheer numbers caused a deep line of worry to crease her brow.

Ryoutarou looked in the direction of her pale finger. His hazel eyes narrowed. A player's cursor was supposed to be green. So why were theirs orange? A deep foreboding feeling over took him. He quickly gestured for the others to stay back while he stepped forward to greet the newcomers. He was more than aware of the fact that several people were still in denial about the consequences of in game death here. He'd heard it the night before at the restaurant. Several were fighting tooth and nail to prove that dying here didn't mean jack shit in the real world. If these people were like those others, then it's possible that they'd be in deep trouble.

"Oh, seems like we've got ourselves a good catch here." A short male with a rat-like face smirked as he rested his halberd across the length of his shoulders.

Kagome bristled at the look he threw their way. She knew that look well. It was the one bandits often gave them before they attacked. It was the look of greed and lust intertwined into a single, malicious intent. Her fingers tightened over the hilt of her Eiki, causing her knuckles to turn even whiter in the silver of moonlight. This wasn't good. Not at all.

"My, my it seems that you're right Tobyn. I wonder…" The tallest of the group began as he eyed them curiously. "How much experience do you think we'd get if we took them out at once?"

"None if we kick your ass first." Souta piped up. His shoulders squared as he stepped beside Ryoutarou. The older man gave him a harsh glare for his brash action but did nothing else. Instead he tried to gather as much information as he could. It wasn't likely that they'd be able to win by jumping blindly into the fray. So what could they do?

He had his blade drawn but caution stilled his hand. They were twenty to eight. Each of them would need to take on at least two people in order to win this battle. The man shot a quick look at his comrades. Their eyes burned with determination as their swords were drawn in a unison of agreement. Before he could say anything, Kagome flew past his other side to the other group. Faster than anyone could blink, she pressed the cold steel of her Eiki into the neck of the rat-faced man known as Tobyn.

"You think you're so tough with your numbers." She growled as she pressed the weapon closer to his flesh. Had this been in the real world a trail of scarlet blood would have already trickled down his collarbone. Pity. The sight of blood always did seem to scare scum away more easily. "How about you test the limits of your power and see how far your numbers get you? This will be a contest of brute strength if you will."

Their opponents seemed to contemplate her words. The tallest of them tilted his head and laughed into the night's air.

"It seems we found someone with a fighting spirit. What do you say men?" The stranger inquired, cocking his head to the side to glance at the various gazes staring back at him with palatable bloodlust.

Good, that was just want she wanted to hear. The adrenaline returned with a vengeance as a rush of excitement flooded her veins. This was life or death. It didn't matter whether their enemies were monsters, demons or humans. So long as they threatened the lives of her comrades, she'd keep fighting to protect them. That was the one rule of the world that she lived by. Images of Kohaku hanging limply returned. Never again. She wouldn't allow anyone else to suffer that pain ever again. Azure eyes flared to life. Her lips pulled back into a deep snarl. No way in hell. Not if she could help it.

"You ready men?" She began, shifting her weight onto one foot and prepped her first attack. Tobyn started to sweat as the Eiki threatened to cut at the flesh of his exposed neck. Perhaps he should have invested in a neck guard as his leader suggested.

"Go!" She cried out, the Rapier lighting up into a brilliant silver before moving to deliver a series of attacks. Tobyn's face paled and his health bar dropped into the red. Just before it dropped to zero, the ex-miko ceased her onslaught. The avatar froze.

Three seconds and another man had jumped on her back. He pressed his curved blade at the skin of her throat just as she did to Tobyn.

Two seconds and he was knocked away by Ryoutarou's fist. The red head stepped in front and held his curved sword in front of him. It lit up before delivering a Reave to three of the opponents. They collapsed, their health bars dipping into the yellow zone.

One second and Souta had blocked a hit from another tank-style character from the other side. Dale quickly took up a spot next to him and helped the teen beat back the bulky man. The orange player threw his blade down upon Souta's skull only to find Dale's sword blocking the hit.

Kagome's body was finally released from the frozen state of Post Motion. She glared at the Rapier. She couldn't afford to be held still for so long. Her eyes narrowed as a plan formed in her mind. Twisting on the ball of her foot she got close to another speed type character. Instead of charging another attack like her opponent, she waited until just before the onslaught of strikes. The dark haired woman twisted her body once more, barely taking a glancing scrape to her side as she dodged the attack. The man's face turned white in pure horror once he realized what happened. She'd avoided the attack and now he was left defenseless in his Post Motion state. Kagome quickly released a series of attacks that she had witness many of comrades from the Feudal Era use. She might not have been capable of handling a sword back then, but that didn't mean that she wasn't familiar with the moves.

She slashed the weapon downwards across the exposed chest of her opponent. A stream of red light was left in her sword's wake. The health bar by the player's orange cursor slid into the red zone. In just the few minutes they'd engaged in battle, already half of their enemy's forces had been destroyed.

Noticing what she was doing, Ryoutarou ran forward and copied her moves. For as much as they could do with their skills, it was clear they wouldn't win this battle without a few aces up their sleeves. The Post Motion was not only an inconvenience but a liability as well. He watched as Souta and Dale switched consistently while the other tried to recover from the lengthy amount of time they were forced to wait for their bodies to move again. Dynamm, Issin and Kunimittz were fairing better by switching consistently and timing their moves in unison.

He needed to be quick but most of all, accurate. The closer he was to his target the better. Hazel eyes narrowed as he focused in on the one player's fall that could end all of this. The red head charged the leader. The taller man took a single step backwards to avoid the tip of his curved blade. The stranger was not so lucky as a small red line lit up across the bridge of his nose. The health bar dropped a few points but for the most part remained green. Ryoutarou ducked around and flanked the stranger from the side. This time, his opponent had nowhere to go. The curved blade found its target and imbedded itself deeply into the exposed side where the man's breastplate did not guard. The green turned red and the man fell to his knees.

The man's followers paused to watch as Ryoutarou pressed his sword to the man's neck. He panted heavily, trepidation stilling his hand.

"Take your forces now and leave us. Failure to do so and I will end your life." The man warned through gnashed teeth. He really didn't want to do it. For as strong as his words were, he wasn't sure if he'd have the strength to actually kill another human being. The man picked up on his hesitation and let out a loud laugh.

"You say that yet your hand shakes like a wee child's." Dark eyes narrowed as a twisted smile spread across the person's lips. "Besides, it's not like we really even know if someone dies here. For all we know killing someone just sets them free of this god forsaken place." Ryoutarou's fist tightened over the hilt of his sword. "So go ahead. This world is a free one after all. We have the right to play as we see fit. Even if it means killing another person."

Kagome pressed her hand over Ryoutarou's. The fighting around them had stilled. Whatever happened now would forever affect the way the others viewed their leader. He took a deep, shuttering breath before burying the hilt of his sword into the temple of the orange group's leader. He turned around and surveyed the area. The rest of their opponents were sheathing their blades and contemplated of what to do next.

"Heed this warning!" Ryoutarou called out fiercely as he pointed his sword in their direction, "Next time you won't be let off so easily!"

The group gathered together as the newcomers limped away towards the thick lining of the forest, carrying their injured with them. Kagome slipped her hand into Ryoutarou's larger one. Her eyes were focused solely on the retreating backs of their enemies. She didn't like this new development whatsoever. It was already difficult enough trying to stay alive fighting the pre-created monsters in the field. Now they had to worry about other players going renegade? Her fingers weaved themselves tightly through his.

"Come on, let's get back to the Inn." He stated simply, gently pulling her in the direction of the Town of Beginnings. The others followed behind them silently. This world was already starting to change and none of them were sure of how just yet. Still, Ryoutarou's hazel eyes focused on the beacon-like lights of the Safe Zone, they were all in this together and that was how things were going to be from here on out. Tomorrow he would officially register them as a guild.

**Works Cited:**

**Tzu, Sun. _The Art of War_. Trans. Lionel Giles. New York: Barnes and Noble Books, 2003. Print.


	5. Ambush

Disclaimer: I don't own jack!

_Pairing: Klein/Kagome_

_Suggested Listening:_ Nice to Meet Me (Instrumental) by Zack Hemsey

"Knowing the place and the time of the coming battle, we may concentrate from the greatest distances in order to fight." (Tzu 29)*

_**Broken Stone** _

**Chapter Five** : Ambush

The chatter around them was charged with excitement and echoes of fear. From the initial groups that had been present the first night, there were now several less. Only a small portion of the groups that left that morning returned. The ones who did come back were either cowering in the darkest corners of the _Sabine_ or cheering about their newfound strength in groups congregating around the bar. The scent of meat and mead still permeated the air but now the pungent smell of sweat intertwined with it in a musk induced fever of adrenaline. The group found themselves taking up refuge at one of the larger rectangular tables within the Inn's restaurant. It was always easier finding spots there and the service was much faster this way. The only downside was that the mead wasn't served tableside. It was only served by the bar-such the reason for its popularity.

Ryoutarou instinctively took the spot at the head of the table. Kagome paused as Souta found himself being pushed towards the opposite end. Shrugging, she sat directly next to her younger sibling and waited patiently as a familiar Non Player Character took their orders.

"Shime! Where did you learn to fight like that? How were able to hit them without the Sword Skill?" Dynamm inquired eagerly while Kunimittz nodded in agreement. Kagome waved her hands frantically in front of her face.

"It's a little complicated. I guess you could say that I've learned from someone else back in the real world." She kept her answer as vague as possible. The NPC returned with a large tray full of eight cups of water. With grace that was unparalleled she placed the drinks in front her customers before taking her leave.

"Oh come on, you can't just leave us hanging like that. Seriously, where did you learn?" Kunimittz pressed, his dark eyes pinning her with a serious stare. A bead of nervousness began to break out above her brow. The young woman took a large gulp of her water. It wasn't like she could just come out and say that she'd been traveling back in the past and fighting bloodthirsty demons as a hobby when she was a teenager. She cringed at that thought, her hand bringing the glass back onto the table with a rough 'tup'. Yeah she wasn't too keen on being thought of as completely insane. So she settled on a better description. It wouldn't be entirely true but not a complete lie either.

"Shita and I live on a shrine. As far as I can remember each generation in our family has always passed down hundreds of years of knowledge and fighting techniques to the heir." The dark haired woman rubbed the back of her neck as Souta gave her a sharp glare. It was true that they had their family secrets. Many of which involved the artifacts that their grandfather stowed away. He just didn't like the fact that they had to divulge any information about their lives outside of the game to these people.

"I was the first born so my family thought it would be best to pass those fighting skills onto me. You see," She held up her index finger and looked upon all of her comrades with a serious face, "We aren't just a shrine of normal mikos and monks. Rather, we come from a line of warriors that originally came into existence to fight against youkai." That wasn't a lie either. Their family were the descendants of a famous warrior priestess by the name Hanako. She had lived several hundred years before the birth of either Kikyou or Kaede. It was Hanako's children that had given rise to the Higurashi surname. The woman had developed a fighting style that had been all her own and with each new heir of the Higurashi family, the style had been passed down to them. Kagome, unfortunately, hadn't been trained until well after she started her trips into the Feudal Era. It was a decision that nearly cost the family dearly.

The rest stared at the pair of siblings with wide eyes. If they had questions before then they were likely to have even more now. Kagome however wasn't feeling up to sharing anymore than she already had. By giving out as much information as she did, she felt that she was now treading on dangerous territory. The line between reality and virtual was starting to blur once more.

Ryoutarou closed his eyes and sighed. When he opened them again he flashed a reassuring smile at their new comrade. It wasn't fair to ask for her entire backstory. Especially not if they didn't want to talk about theirs. So he did the next best thing he could think of and redirected the conversation.

"Well you heard the lady. That should satisfy your curiosity, right? Now onto more important matters." He clapped his hands, quickly driving their attention away from Kagome's physical prowess. "Since we're going to create our own guild we need to decide upon a name. Any suggestions?" The red head began. He'd already thought up a few ideas himself but he wasn't really set on them though. None of them felt right.

"Samurai Eight." Dale threw in jokingly. It was a throwback to the old Seven Samurai* movie that had quickly become a classic staple of the Bushido genre in Japanese film. The others shook their heads.

"Nah because then we'd have to keep changing our name each time we get a new member." Issin shot down. He turned his thin face towards Souta. He gestured for him to throw out an idea. "Why don't you guys give it a try?" Dynamm and Dale nodded in agreement while Kunimittz stared down at his hands. Harry One smiled kindly at Souta's stricken expression.

"It's alright, don't be so nervous." The youthful man teased slightly as Kagome and Souta shot each other fretful looks.

"What about something referring to Sun Tzu?" Her brother piped up, stroking his beardless chin with an index finger and thumb. "The man was a genius of war strategy. So why not take inspiration from him?" He remembered all the nights that Kagome would return home from a fight with Inuyasha. To help calm herself, she'd sit on his bed with him and they'd read quotes from Sun Tzu together until they were able to fall asleep.

"Great idea!" Ryoutarou enthused as his face lit up. "Now what about you guys? You got anything good?" There was a muttered silence. It was in this instance that Kagome was grateful that she read _The Art of War_ by said man. Its tactics had saved her hide more times than she cared to admit to in the Feudal Era. Although there was one particular quote that stuck out to her the most.

"Let your rapidity be that of the wind, your compactness that of the forest." She started. Souta's azure eyes lit up as he continued from where she left off, " In raiding and plundering be like fire, in immovability like a mountain."*

"Wind, Forest, Fire and Mountain." The older of the Higurashi siblings raised her nearly empty glass of water to eye-level. "Fuurinkazan. How does that sound to you?"

Dynamm raised his glass and tapped the edge against hers, "To Fuurinkazan." Harry One, Kunimittz, Dale and Issin followed suit. The sound of the fragile objects being gently tapped against one another resounded loudly from their table. Ryoutarou raised his glass as well.

"Fuurinkazan it is." The group sipped at their drinks in an impromptu toast to the naming of their guild. The Non Player Character returned once more, only this time carrying two trays full of the steaks they'd ordered.

"Now I know we discussed this before that I'd take up the leadership role of the guild but there's one other question I need to ask." Hazel eyes narrowed sharply as he watched his comrades come to attention. "We need to decide who will be second in command."

Several pairs of fingers pointed in Kagome's direction.

"Shime." Five masculine voices echoed simultaneously. The young woman's face flushed in embarrassment but she couldn't deny that it felt good to finally have her strength validated.

"Are you guy sure?" The dark haired woman started. "I mean, it something we need to decide carefully."

It was Kunimittz who spoke up first, "You were the first person to deduce that not using a Sword Skill and thus bypassing the Post Motion stage would be the best tactic we'd have in defeating that guild earlier tonight. It was your plan that was what ended that fight. If we have to double guess whether or not you're fit to be second in command after all of that then that'd only show how little intellect we would have." The dark haired man flashed her a playful smirk. "So why don't you give us more credit. We know a strategist when we see one."

Kagome couldn't help the warm smile that spread across her lips, "Thanks. I'll do my best." It was nice to have that kind of reassurance. She'd grown so used to snarky remarks and condescending glares that she'd forgotten what it was like to be shown kindness. Not only that but she'd forgotten just how worthy of a warrior she truly had been on the battlefield. Naraku had feared her and Sesshoumaru had respected her. Shouldn't that have been enough to validate her innate capabilities? Memories of Inuyasha's taunts attempted to resurface but the ex-miko was quick to push them down. She wouldn't ever become that dependent girl again. Azure eyes met hazel. This time, she'd be the one that they could lean on.

Over a week passed without incident. The Fuurinkazan often made trips out to the forest and were now venturing close to one of the first villages. The experience and monsters had been slim to none but they were still able to level up considerably by having Kagome locate rare areas with higher leveled monsters. By now she was close to level twelve and Souta was pushing fourteen.

"Hey Klein, just how much further until we reach _Lanslet_ village anyways? It feels like we've been walking for days!" Dale whined from the back of their two party group. Kagome rested the back of her head against the cool bark of the darkly colored trees that surrounded them. No matter how far they trekked the woodland itself didn't change in appearance.

Their leader pointed towards the thin, snaking path that fed directly into a splintering fork of many roads.

"It's going to be one of those roads. Most of them are false leads. Only three actually lead to a place other than a trap or dead end." The red head pulled up his map as Kagome stood to move next him. Her eyes narrowed at the splitting paths that were reflected on the blue and white map. Something wasn't quite right with this set up.

"Take a look at this." She pointed towards a route that weaved expertly between the rough terrain and led to an open mouth of a river basin at the far reaches of their map. "This point right here," She enlarged the area, "Is going to be a good spot for hunting."

The young woman quickly crossed her arms over her chest, "Though it'd be extremely risky. The level of the monsters there will probably be higher than ours. Not only that but there's always a risk of other players trying to execute an ambush due to its prime location." She tilted her head to the side and scowled. It was a no win situation.

Ever since their run in with the group of people with the orange cursors, they'd tried to warn other information brokers and guilds alike about them. However they were met with cynicism and skeptical glances. After all, who would be foolish enough to try killing another player when the real life consequences were already made public? Black brows furrowed in frustration. Sure she knew that spreading such information could cause an even greater panic than before but knowledge was key to survival in this game. She didn't particularly like the thought of hiding something of this magnitude from the rest of the innocent people trapped here.

Ryoutarou's hand clasped her shoulder heavily, "Come on, we'll be fine. Besides we should probably hit the village first anyways." He threw his head back and gestured towards their comrades who were near faint from exhaustion. "We need time to rest after all of this grinding." She nodded and gently squeezed his hand with her own. His grasp slipped from her shoulder to her wrist. It was something that they'd gotten comfortable with doing. She hardly even noticed that they were doing it anymore. It just felt so natural, holding his hand like this. A light smile touched her lips. Not even Inuyasha could calm her the way Ryoutarou was able to now.

"We'll rest for a few more minutes and then we'll figure out where we need to go." The two sat next to each other by a large tree stump. Kagome brushed dirt away from the cloth of her white haori. She leaned her head against his shoulder and sighed. He pressed his cheek into the crest of her hair. They were just as tired as everyone else. Azure eyes slowly closed as she listened in to the soft warbles and hymns of the wildlife. She could easily recognize them as an imitation of the sounds the Japanese Robins made. The harmony of chirps worked as a soothing lullabye. The scent of evergreens and flora was made ever present by the overflowing amount of foliage surrounding them. It was almost as if this area were created to lull its inhabitants into a false sense of security.

Wait, that was right. Her eyes snapped open as she quickly shot up into a sitting position.

"What's wrong?" The male beside her questioned worriedly. He'd rarely seen that look on the young woman's face. Her brow creased and she chewed on her bottom lip nervously. In the short time they'd known each other, he learned that this was an expression that was not meant to be taken lightly. Already his survival instincts were kicking into gear.

"Something isn't right." She opened up her map again. Icons for monsters were now staring to appear along with the treasures that were possible to find in specific locations. The icons were triggered after a player would discover the monsters and items there. Those would then be projected into the mass player map that everyone could use. "That spot I showed you earlier." She pointed towards it again. "There aren't any icons there." Using her index finger and thumb, she flicked the fingers away from each other and zoomed in on the specific point where the forest met the basin of the river. "It's a hot spot for wildlife. All animals in both the real world and this virtual one must converge on a place to drink to sustain their life. So the fact that there are no icons there means something is going on." Her eyes shifted over the area and scanned it once more. "It's unlikely that this place hasn't been searched yet by the beta testers so the icons of monsters that re-spawn after their searches should have already appeared." She zoomed out and scanned the area surrounding it. All of the land eastward of the location was hunted clear while the area to the north of their location still held icons of monsters and treasures.

She looked up and met Ryoutarou's eyes in concern, "Someone is camping there. They would have to have been hunting that place clean for a while now considering the high leveled monsters that would lurk there." The ex-miko swallowed thickly, "I think it might be the orange players' hide out." A hushed, tense silence overcame the guild. The man's eyes hardened as he glanced between his second in command and the other players who followed him. If they were this close to a dangerous hideout then that meant that an ambush had likely been planned. But where?

"Here." She directed his attention to the singular path that fed out into the pastures of _Lanslet_. "If they want to get as many people unaware as possible, then this will be the place that they will strike." She withdrew her Eiki. "We won't be able to win taking by taking them head on." She raised her blade and glanced at the reflection of the woman staring back at her. The dark haired woman knew what she needed to do to ensure their survival. The only question was, would she be fast enough to pull it off?

"I need you all to listen carefully to what I have to say." The group huddled together as their hands locked onto their weapons. "What we're going to have to do will be dangerous but we'll need to pull it off to survive." The ex-miko looked from one man to the next. Her eyes finally settled on her brother's flaming azure ones. He wasn't afraid, she realized. None of them were.

"We need a distraction while another one of us gathers information." She raised her Eiki and titled it horizontally in the air, "I'll volunteer myself as the distraction since I have the highest speed parameter. I have the best chance of getting away should things get dicey." Ryoutarou looked as if he were about to protest but Issin interrupted him.

"I'll go with you and survey the enemy's quarters. I've been working on my tracking and stealth skills lately so that shouldn't be a problem." The thin-faced man nodded at her. "When do we depart?"

Kagome's eyes hardened, "As soon as you're ready."

"What about us?" Souta queried as he approached his sibling. "What do you need us to do?" He wasn't one to sit back and watch as she took on the burden all by herself. He'd have enough of being the weak link that was always in need of her protection. Starting from today on, he'd become the strong one.

She glanced over him and Dale, "I'll need you two at the rear. You both need to be in a good hiding place. Chances are we won't have much time to formulate a good formation before they chase us in here." She directed her blade to the thicket of black tree trunks and flora that surrounded their current resting spot. "Once I lead them here it'll be up to you two to charge them. Your strength as the tanks of this guild is what will determine the victory." She then turned her attention to Harry One and Kunimittz. "Same goes for you two. Separate the players as much as possible. We want them to scramble. We need to hit them before they know what's happening." Her gaze landed onto Ryoutarou's skeptical ones. "Klein," She hesitated to use his screen name. It felt somewhat unnatural for her. "You need to help direct the flow of who goes where once we get in there. Issin's information will come within minutes if not seconds of the attack. It'll be your swift actions that'll carry this mission out to the end. Do you understand?"

He narrowed his eyes, "Yeah I understand but I'm not comfortable with it." He quickly pulled her aside and away from prying ears. "Do you really have to go in there alone? It'd be better to take someone else with you to serve as a distraction. Safety in numbers, remember?"

Kagome shook her head. She knew all too well the concern her companion felt but now was not the time for double guessing.

"I can't. Taking another person with a slower speed stat than mine would not only slow me down, but put our entire operation in jeopardy." She brushed her hand down the length of his arm reassuringly. "I need you to trust in me right now, Ryoutarou. We don't have any other alternatives. That's the only path leading to _Lanslet_. If we want to live then we need to do this. Please…" She trailed off, pleading with him with such an intense sincerity that he couldn't bring himself to say no.

The red head sighed in frustration, "Damn it, fine. But I have an order for you as your leader." His hazel eyes narrowed as he turned to face her fully, "Don't you dare die. You got that? No risky moves, no jumping into useless battles. Just get in and get out. Your only mission is to get your ass back here in one piece. Got it?"

Any other day she would've laughed at the intensity of his demand but today would not be that day. There was a real threat that needed to be handled and she wasn't going to be taking it lightly. Just like Ryoutarou believed, this would be another life or death situation. She couldn't afford to screw around.

"Understood." She replied fiercely with determination burning brightly in her azure eyes.

Within ten minutes the guild was ready to move out. Ryoutarou swiftly directed Dale and Souta to take up a position close to the south side of their little clearing. Kunimittz and Harry One took to the boughs of the trees. They kneeled upon the branches and waited in hiding. Once the enemy would come crashing in, they'd jump down on them from above.

Kagome and Issin quickly geared up and prepped a few healing crystals while they were at it. Teleporting crystals were so few and far between at this point that not only were they expensive, but detrimental to use. After all, it'd only be able to transport them back to towns that they'd been to. Which in this case would lead them back to the Town of Beginnings and put them even further behind schedule than necessary. So the guild opted to avoid using the item unless the situation was dire enough to require it.

The young woman glanced over her shoulder and met Ryoutarou's fierce gaze with a determined one of her own. They weren't going to die today. That was for damn certain. With a shift of her foot, she took off at high speed towards the center-most path that fed directly into the pastures of _Lanslet_. Issin was right behind her. They ran as fast and far as they could. Her stamina was thankfully high enough that she could withstand such extended periods of stress without much of her physical strength being taxed. Issin on the other hand was falling further and further behind. She pointed her index finger towards the branches of the trees—indicating for him to hide there if he were to fall behind. The thin-faced man nodded quickly but sped up in his pace. He was determined not to fail in his mission.

They met little to no opposition as they reached the final stretch of the dirt road. It was yet another clue of the enemy that laid in wait up ahead. The curtain of thickets and foliage suddenly began to disperse as the light of day bled through the open mouth of the exit. Issin suddenly climbed up one of the largest trees near the exit. Kagome pushed forward and into the light of day. With a single push of her speed, she breached the pastures of land that surrounded _Lanslet_. In the distance a village nearly a quarter of the size of the Town of Beginnings laid bare before the periwinkle sky. Small plumes of black smoke from butcher shops and black smith's place of work slowly pillared into the sky like beacons of life amongst this world of death.

The dark haired woman skidded to a stop as she scanned the area. Her tracking skills were still amateur at best, but she still had enough to be able to detect another's presence nearby. As expected, a large group of players were settled silently in the thick branches of the trees. They knew she was here. Her eyes narrowed. Well, it was about time she showed them what exactly it meant to screw with the Fuurinkazan guild. The ex-miko ran forward, straight into the heart of the ambush. She could see Issin following her from a distance. He was keeping a close watch in case she needed back up. A small smile tugged at her lips.

"Well look who we have here!" Tobyn's voice pierced from the sky above. "A lost little cat without her litter to back her up." The rat-faced man dropped from his hiding spot directly in front of her. "I wonder, how strong are you without your numbers?" He taunted, the scent of the _Sabine_ 's mead and boar meat emanating from his clothing. "Care to test your strength, you lost little cat?"

With a smirk, Kagome ran forward and slashed at the breastplate that now protected the disgusting man's chest. A thin red line cut through the item before shattering it in a single hit.

"I think I can handle that." She threw back at him, "Come on, you idiots think you can take me on?" She casually threw her Eiki over her shoulder in a subtle insult that they were not worthy enough for her to remain on guard. Azure eyes narrowed as the group stepped ever closer to her. The twenty members from before had dwindled down to twelve. Their chances of survival were going up by the minute. Still, she stopped her brief survey to glance at a newcomer hiding in the shadows. His form was tall and covered in the shadows of the woodland, but Kagome could tell that he was a tank type of user. If that player wasn't taken down quickly then he'd become an issue for them.

"If you really want your revenge for the other week the you'll need to catch me first." She teased, turning back on the heel of her foot and darting into the forest once more. Two of the men chased after her. They were Rapier users as well. One of which she recognized from their previous skirmish. The smirk on her lips widened. Good, this would be a great opportunity to take out the fastest of their group before they reached Ryoutarou and the others. Before the eye could blink she took to the highest part of the trees. Her pursuers paused in their search, their eyes looking from left to right, unsure of what just happened. She waited until they backed into each other, watching for any sign of movement from around them.

With a skillful hand, she plucked a small twig from the branch that she stood upon. She cocked her arm back and threw it as far as she could. The piece of wood smacked into a moss-covered rock, creating a loud echo that threw the men through a loop. The stepped away from each other and approached the line of trees on opposing sides.

"There you go. A little bit further…" The young woman encouraged quietly. Once the male closest to her stepped beneath her tree, she leapt from her spot. The Eiki was poised to strike. Its blade glimmered against the soft light that filtered into the forest. Wind rushed past her face as she threw a downward slash upon her opponent. The red line that indicated her strike lit up across his shoulder and torso. His healthbar dipped deeply into the red. He'd only been a point away from death.

The man's comrade turned but before he could prepare his Sword Skill to strike, Kagome had already impaled him in the stomach with her Rapier. He fell to his knees, the colored bar beneath his name then dropped into the light red zone.

"Don't ever forget that twice I've spared your life. The next time, I won't be as lenient." The young woman directed her comment to the older of the two men. His face was a mask of horror as he desperately tried to use a healing crystal. She swiftly smacked it out of his hands. The emerald object flew in an arched line, crashing soundly against the thick trunk of an ash colored tree. It shattered into nothingness right before the man's eyes. "I told you. Don't test my patience."

Her attention was suddenly drawn away by the sound of heavy feet running across the dirt path. It was now on her to lead them back to the rest of the guild. Azure eyes narrowed in fierce determination. She would not fail.

* * *

Souta waited as he and Dale took up their positions. Issin had just messaged them a minute ago. There were twelve members of the orange players in total. Out of those twelve, Kagome managed to take out their two Rapier users. Which left ten for them to handle. That meant that for each member of the Fuurinkazan left behind, they'd need to take out two people each. His grip on the Krieger tightened. Not a problem.

Issin did mention in his message that one of the players looked to be a high level tank. They would need both himself and Dale to take him out safely. Sweat beaded Souta's brow. He felt the familiar chill of fear run down his spine, but instead of clamming up he shifted his feet closer to the ever-growing sounds of a fight that approached them.

Issin had rerouted to back up Kagome while she led them to their ambush. The two were now working together to draw in the enemy into their territory. The teen heard his sister's cry of fury followed by the clash of iron against iron. They were nearly there.

From his position, the young man could see Ryoutarou shifting uncomfortably. Their leader was anxious and rightfully so. He grit his teeth and watched with determined eyes at the skirmish that was taking place below them. It wasn't time yet. The red head was forced to remain in place. He couldn't blow their cover just yet.

Kagome slashed her Rapier against the exposed side of one of the offensive type orange players as they charged her. They fell to their knees before falling over completely. Pain was another aspect of this game. Some injuries hurt like hell while others felt like a simple prick of the skin. A player's side was one of the most painful places to be attacked and she took full advantage of it. With a quick dash, she darted behind the pre-arranged zone of safety.

The ex-miko threw her back against one of the trees just diagonal from Souta and Dale. It was then that the two emerged from their hiding places. They raised their blades in unison and smirked at the small crowd now forming in their tiny clearing. Their comrades had managed to take out another two of the group before the rendezvous point. That just left eight more to take down.

Ryoutarou, Kunimittz and Harry One dropped from their perches as well; their blades drawn for battle. Now this was a fair fight. They slashed and pushed, separating the men from each other and slowly knocked each one into submission. It took time and endurance. By the time they reached the final player, the Fuurinkazan had nearly run out of steam.

Kagome stepped forward and took her place by their leader's side. The tank type user tilted his head to the side but said nothing. The name 'Yvain' was written by his healthbar. However unlike many players, he wore an iron mask that blocked his face from view. The masked man raised his hands and gave a might ovation to their show of strength.

"My, I never knew that such a small guild could possess so much cunning." The voice was altered somewhat by the metal mask. The eyes that peered through the small cutouts drifted towards Kagome's stiff form. Ryoutarou moved in front of her and held his curved blade to the stranger's neck.

"Mind telling me what you're really doing this for? It can't just before kicks." His eyes hardened as he watched the man casually step away and laugh.

"Of course not. After all, such a thing as death should never be taken lightly." There was an air of sarcasm to his tone. The young woman felt the hair on the back of her neck bristle. What was this creature? He certainly couldn't be human!

"We merely wish to bring a single message to the world." He raised his hands above him with his palms facing towards the sky. "All we want is to prove that our existence here is futile. There is no meaning in this world." Yvain dropped his arms to his side and lifted his mask just enough to flash a crooked smirk. "We are nothing and to nothing we shall return. That is all we want to convey." The man turned on the heel of his foot. "Until next time… Fuurinkazan…" The shadows shifted around them, enabling the man to retreat silently into the quietness of the woodland.

The trip to _Lanslet_ had been a quiet one filled with trepidation and fury. The general consensus of the group was to inform the information brokers immediately of the events that occurred and the very real danger that lurked just within the forest. However prior experience kept the guild from becoming hopeful of any sort of support from the other green players. It'd take some measure of proof before they would gain any backing from the others. That thought left Kagome more frustrated than she cared to admit.

By the time they reached the village the scarlet light of dusk was beginning to dye into a monochrome of burgundy. The group trudged their way into the town, their shoulder slumped and weapons casually slung over their shoulders. Even if they'd won the battle against the orange players today, they had yet to win the war.

"Come all!" A deep voice resounded from the center-most forum of the tiny village. "You are all cordially invited to become part of the first ever assault team!" Their guild-mates perked up. With hastened steps, the battle weary group made their way through the cobble stone paths and shop-lined streets to the plaza. "Sword Art Online's number one player, Diabel, will be assimilating an assault team to take on the final boss of the first floor here in two week's time! If you feel that you are strong enough then please, head directly from here to the tower." The announcer called out enthusiastically as he jutted his thumb to the thick, brick-pillared building that laid several miles to the north of _Lanslet_. "All others take heed! Danger lurks in this mission but glory be to the one who succeeds!" With that, the man stepped off of his pedestal and disappeared into the crowd of people that had gathered.

Kagome glanced over at Ryoutarou. They needed to make a decision and fast. Which was more important to them, informing the masses of a guild of players seeking to end their lives? Or to continue on in this quest and mount task force to take on the final boss of this floor? Either way, they needed to decide before the end of the day tomorrow. For it'd take every second of light of every day to reach the center-most tower in time for the raid. The dark haired woman slipped her fingers through his. Now more than ever, they'd need to rely on each others strength. They'd need it in the upcoming battles.

**Works Cited:**

** _Seven Samurai_. Dir. Akira Kurosawa. Perf. Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Daisuke Katou, Isao Kimura, Minoru Chiaki, Seiji Miyaguchi, Yoshio Inaba. Toho, 1954. DVD.

** Tzu, Sun. _The Art of War_. Trans. Lionel Giles. New York: Barnes and Noble Books, 2003. 32-33. Print.


	6. Mead and Honey

Disclaimer: I don't own jack!

_Pairing: Klein/Kagome_

_Suggested Listening_ : Reforget by Lauv

_**Broken Stone** _

**Chapter Six** : Mead and Honey

Kagome laid upon her back. She sucked a breath between her teeth as her eyes slowly closed. She was completely and utterly exhausted from the day's events. Still, she cracked an eye open and glared at a fissure that marred the nearly perfectly designed ceiling of their suite, there were more battles that needed to be waged. Her fingers flexed into the cloth of the bed.

"You awake?" Souta asked from the queen bed beside hers. The older sibling hummed softly—too tired to give a proper response.

"What do you think we should do?" The younger male started. He was nervous. Whether they fought against the orange players or the final boss of this floor, they were still in for a long and tough battle. The risks would be enormous.

The dark haired woman opened her eyes fully. That was a good question. What _was_ there to do? The information brokers just laughed them out of the door. The trip to the central tower would push them to their breaking point, thus exposing them to even more risk during a boss fight. She took a deep breath. In her mind, the only thing she knew to do would be to deal with the threats directly. Screw the information brokers. If they wouldn't help then they'd just have to handle the orange players on their own. However she wasn't the only one who's opinion mattered in this world.

"We should fight those players." Kagome stated matter of factly. "But we need to get input from the others as well. They will probably want to take on the boss."

Her brother's expression twisted into one of discontent, "We can always challenge the boss of the higher floors. I don't see why it's so important now…" The teen trailed off. He held his Krieger up in the dim lighting of their suite. The blade glimmered in the yellow light; reflecting his sullen countenance.

"We're going to put it to a vote in the morning, so don't worry. I'm sure that point will come up." She reassured. That fact alone did calm her. At the very least she knew that they would be making this decision as a cohesive unit, rather than the blame being solely placed upon the shoulders of a single person.

A soft knock came at their door. The siblings sat up slowly and listened carefully for the person to announce themselves. It was the number one rule of this game. A person was safe from intrusion so long as they did not open their door. No one could break in nor could they be harmed while in this safe zone. A weak sense of security but one nonetheless.

"It's me," Ryoutarou stated from the other side of the door. "May I come in?"

Kagome stood and quietly opened the door for their leader. He entered the threshold of their suite but did not sit. Instead the red head chose to remain standing while his second in command took up a spot by the desk. She crossed her leg over her knee and waited patiently for him to explain the reason for his visit. It wasn't like him to intrude upon their personal time after forages. The only time he'd ever done it was when they feared that there was a dangerous situation that needed to be discussed. This, she rightfully assumed, would be one of those times.

"About tomorrow…" Ryoutarou started, his face grimacing while his hands tightened the knot of his bandana. "I need to know where exactly you stand on this debate. We need to work together and I want to make sure I understand your position." His hazel eyes bore into her azure eyes. There was concern and apprehension there, but there was also determination. The likes of which she hadn't seen for many years. Kagome didn't hesitate to tell him exactly what she thought.

"The dangers the orange players present should be a higher priority for us." She folded her hands into her lap and looked up at him with a candid expression. "Right now, we're the only ones who are aware of their existence. We should be the ones to put a stop to their antics."

The man nodded in affirmation, "That's what I thought as well, but I think Dynamm and Kunimittz will want to take the boss fight." He crossed his arms over the back of his head and leaned against the wood paneled walls of the _Sela_. In _Lanslet_ , _Sela_ was the only Inn that existed. It, quite thankfully, didn't charge any Col for the use of its rooms but it did charge a small amount for food unlike at the _Sabine._ The suites themselves were quaint and the food was slightly better. Instead of distinctly boar meat, there was now cow meat and cream available in this particular village. Kagome supposed that it had something to do with the fact that cattle were being raised and bred in this town by the Non Player Characters as opposed to the randomly generated boar by the Town of Beginnings.

"Personally, I think everyone is just tired." He rolled his shoulders, cracking a few joints in the process. "We need some time to catch up. I think we should take a couple of days off to gather up our spirits again and then set our sights on the orange players."

The ex-miko couldn't agree more. They were all far too exhausted. Even if they did rest this night their morale would suffer and a low morale would result in a decisive defeat for their guild. A rush of air left her lips in a sigh.

"You're right but will the others be okay with that decision?" She inquired. It was a valid concern. They were still a new guild and as such, they needed to tread carefully with the wants and wishes of their comrades. It was their strength that had seen them come this far. The couldn't risk losing any of their members due to conflicting goals. Everything will need to be laid out in the open.

"I don't see much choice in the matter." The red haired man moved to sit next to her on the hard-cushioned couch that rested adjacent to the desk. Both she and Souta had briefly laid on it to test its softness but quickly found the furniture much too uncomfortable for their liking. So the love seat remained virtually unused. "It's either we get the rest we need or we put our necks on the line regardless of who we take on."

Ryoutarou rested his forearms on his knees and allowed his hands to clasp together in the space between his legs.

Kagome gave him a soft smile, "Well I guess that just means that we'll need to convince them." She moved from her spot by the desk and sat beside him upon the couch. "Have you tried talking to Dynamm and Kunimittz yet?" The young woman threaded her fingers through the loose knot of his hands. The red head's grip loosened to allow her easier access.

Souta watched from his perch upon his bed. His azure eyes narrowed at their interlocked fingers. Kagome had always been one to show affection physically but this was bordering on outright attraction for her. Things were moving quicker than he expected given her previous aversion to anything that resembled a relationship. The teen had his concerns about this budding relationship but remained quiet. He'd watch them for now but if the day ever came, he wouldn't hesitate to do what was necessary to protect his sister. Azure eyes locked onto hazel.

"No, not yet. I wanted to give them time to relax first." The man smiled kindly. "We all need some time to ourselves, you know?"

The young woman nodded in agreement, "That I can understand." She stood and offered her hand to her companion. "Now come on. Let's get some food. I'm hungry." She threw her head over her shoulder and glanced at Souta. "Do you want to come?"

The teen shook his head. He knew when he wasn't needed. Besides, he was still full from their meal earlier. Kagome and Ryoutarou had skipped out in order to map out all possible hiding spots that the orange players would've taken up. Needless to say, the two were beyond famished.

"You guys go on ahead. Just make sure to bring her back before dawn, Klein!" Souta growled as he shot the man a dark glare. He didn't bother with the use of the man's real name. Not here anyways. Besides, he wasn't too fond of him using his real name either. Only his sister was allowed to do that.

Kagome laughed, "Geez, you're turning into jii-chan with all this protectiveness. It's just dinner." She waved goodbye to him before continuing, "See you in a bit!"

The pair made their way down the dimly lit corridor. The jeers and excited ramblings of other players resonated from the bar all throughout the tiny Inn. The gamey smell of boar was replaced with the more refined scent of a well-cooked steak from a cow. Heat enveloped the rooms around them from the kitchen's oven. The elegant atmosphere of the _Sabine_ was eclipsed in comparison to the quaint coziness of _Sela_ 's intimate atmosphere.

If Ryoutarou were honest with himself, then he'd have to say that he was nervous. Even without the upcoming fears of the orange players and boss battles to worry about, he'd never been good at taking girls out on dates. So what if Kagome were his second in command? She was still a cute girl who was currently walking beside him and holding his hand. Plus, they were about to have dinner together. Alone. That thought struck him. The last time they'd really been alone together was when they'd first met. His eyes softened at her peaceful expression. He felt her fingers lace tightly through his own and she flashed him a quick smile. A tiny blush crossed his cheeks.

Every waking moment they'd spent discussing battle formations and skill tactics. There hadn't been a period where they were just _people_ again. He returned her smile with a kind one of his own. It was nice to see this lighter side of her. As expected, the bar was crowded but a few spots were left empty.

"Want to try the mead this time?" He questioned, pointing towards the two empty stools. She shrugged, why not? It wasn't as if she were underage. Plus it'd be good to let loose every once in a while.

The red head helped her up into her seat before taking his own directly next to her. A burly Non Player Character casually took their orders. She sipped at the complimentary glass of water that was presented to them. The two were quiet for the most part. Ryoutarou took a drink of from his water as nervousness began to hit him. Despite his typical antics around women, he wasn't a complete idiot. He knew that trying to start a relationship of any sort with his second in command was begging for trouble. Still, his hazel eyes drifted towards Kagome's peaceful expression, he wanted to learn more about her. He was curious. She'd displayed such courage and calm earlier that he found himself craving to know more. She always seemed to surprise him in the heat of battle with her surefire tactics and resolute will.

"So," He started a bit more awkwardly than intended, "Was it just me or was your brother giving me the side eye earlier?" That thought had been bothering him for some time. Ryoutarou had noticed the teenager giving him side glares every now and then but wasn't exactly sure why. He was starting to wonder if the kid had some sort of sister complex by this point.

The young woman clasped her hand over her mouth to prevent water from falling out of it. With a choked laugh, she swallowed the liquid.

"That wasn't your imagination." The dark haired woman stated, trying to regain her composure. A light dust of pink tinted her cheeks from the near spill over. Ryoutarou fought to keep the smile off of his face. He gently patted her back until the coughing spell subsided.

"Souta's always been rather protective. So I wouldn't worry about it too much." Her azure eyes lit up as the first cup of mead was delivered to them. Good, a distraction!

"Uh huh…" The red head tried not to laugh at her embarrassment. It was actually cute to see his typically calm and collected subordinate flustered. "Sorry, didn't mean to pry." The man placated honestly. There was one thing that was quickly becoming a taboo topic in Sword Art Online and that was the lives they'd lived outside of the game. Bringing it up here would only serve as a reminder of what they'd lost so he tried to avoid such topics. But that didn't mean that his curiosity was sated. He wanted to know more about this woman who'd so easily placed her trust in him.

"It's fine," Kagome smiled as she took the first sip of the alcoholic beverage. There was a slight twinge of honey to the flavor. She tilted the cup back and drank more; savoring the odd taste. "No harm done." Ryoutarou watched as she placed her mug back onto the bar top with a heavy 'tup'. It was already a third of the way consumed. He glanced back at his own drink and slowly sipped at it. Somehow he knew this was going to be an interesting night.

"If you don't mind me asking," She started as she twisted to face him directly, "Why did you help me out that day in front of the game store? You could've just left me alone but you didn't." The ex-miko smiled at him. "I'm grateful, really but I'm curious."

It was Ryoutarou's turn to blush in embarrassment. Why had he helped her? Well the answer was probably more simple than she'd like. He took a large swig of his drink. The action didn't go unnoticed by her all-seeing eyes.

He took a deep breath. It was now or never.

"Well, I thought you were pretty cute and…" He trailed off, his face practically burning. Whether it was the mead or shame causing the rise in temperature, he'd never know.

"So you just wanted my number, right?" Kagome laughed. He took another swig while she sipped away.

"A little more than a number…." He whispered under his breath. That was true. It had been a date that he was after. The red head tried not to meet her gaze directly for it'd drive away whatever confidence he still had in him.

"You're pretty cute yourself." Kagome teased as she swung around in her seat to face away from him. His cheeks flushed but he said nothing else.

Their food arrived not a second too soon. She pushed her mead away and took a large gulp of her water. The way her face heated and her body swayed made Kagome rethink how much she'd already had to drink. By now her mug had been drained nearly to the bottom. Perhaps she'd drank it too quickly for her body to handle? The young woman hoped that by downing more water and eating some food that the effects of the mead would slowly ease away.

Their steaks sizzled deliciously among a pair of ceramic plates. Two loaves of bread with a line of cream brushed down the center sat parallel to one another. She swayed in her seat as she tried to cut into the meat. Her shoulder leaned heavily into Ryoutarou's. It seemed that no matter how hard she tried she just couldn't keep herself balanced.

The red head fought the urge to laugh, "I take it that you're a lightweight?"

Kagome shook her head, "Well it's only the second time I've gone drinking, so I suppose so."

"Ah so this is the first time after your twenty-first birthday?" The casual smirk he threw her way caused the young woman's face to heat up even more. Though she started to doubt that it was the alcohol causing that peculiar effect.

"That obvious huh?" She responded as her body slowly began to regain its equilibrium. Although as soon as she leaned away from Ryoutarou, her torso threatened to fall over on the opposite side. He quickly grabbed her arm and steadied her.

"Yeah, you should eat then get some rest. Although I'm surprised that getting drunk is even a possibility here." He commented lightly. His hand brushed over the bare skin of Kagome's arm. The young man quickly retracted his hand as if burned. Now wasn't the time to be taking any advantages.

"Me too." She started to pick at the tender pieces of meat that had been so delicately carved by her unsteady hand. "The last time I went out it'd taken three for me to get this tipsy." The ex-miko continued to eat the delicious meat. "I think these are either stronger than expected, or I'm not as good with my alcohol as I thought."

Ryoutarou thought over her words. He was already halfway through his mug and could feel the beginnings of a buzz. Normally it'd take at least one and a half to start feeling anything.

"I think these just might be a stronger brew." He commented, thankful that he'd gone a bit slower at drinking his mead than Kagome. That way at least one of them would be lucid enough to get the other back to their room safely.

The rest of their meal they had eaten in silence. Things between them were a little awkward but the dark haired woman was satisfied. She didn't feel the edge of nervousness that she'd had on her twenty-first birthday. She felt much more secure here. Not only that but, her eyes slid over to her companion's hunched form, she had someone that she could trust with her. How long had it been since she'd been able to place her trust in someone other than her family? She couldn't remember anymore.

Kagome's thoughts returned to the battle looming over them. Her face darkened as her previous fears surfaced.

"Hey," The young woman began. Ryoutarou glanced up at her, a piece of meat still hanging from his mouth. His eyes were sharp but he looked so silly with his teeth digging into the slice of food. She stopped, taking in the hilarity of the image, then proceed to burst into a fit of laughter. "You know, I think you're supposed to _chew_ your food before you swallow it!" She bit out between laughs.

"Hey, I'm starving here!" The red head complained as he finished off the over-sized portion. So _maybe_ he hadn't cut it as small as he should have. Still, he had his pride to keep in tact! At least what was left of it. He decided to ignore her taunt and encourage his companion to continue with where she left off. "What were you about to ask?"

Her laughed died out and the last of the mead left her system. "How do you want to go about handling the orange players? It'd be too difficult to just mount a surprise attack. Our levels are too low at this point." The ex-miko pushed her empty dishes away. The Non Player Character swiftly retrieved them before sending them off to be cleaned. Her azure eyes followed the throngs of people piling into the bar as the clock struck just past midnight.

"I've been wondering that one myself." He finished off the last of his steak and imitated her actions. "We'll definitely need to gain some experience quickly. It'll be dangerous since the forest is a hot spot for those types of players." The man's face darkened as he scratched at the stubble of his chin with his thumb and index finger.

"Maybe we can enlist the help of other guilds? The information brokers are lazy good for nothings around here." The young man scoffed, clenching his hand into a fist.

"Will they help us though?" Kagome wound her hands in her lap. "Most guilds are more focused on leveling and don't care much for anything else right now."

"Can't say that I blame them." Ryoutarou commented. "Right now the only way to survive is to level up quickly." He threw a glance over towards a group of rowdy men huddled across the bar from them. They jeered and celebrated at their latest victory with a pack of Mob Dogs, which were canine like creatures that often ambushed players in groups ranging between five and seven. Individually, they were weak monsters but as a pack they were incredibly difficult to take down. The raucous cheering drowned out all the other noises in the bar. The pair were forced to raised their voices to a mild yell in order to hear one another.

"They'll start focusing on other issues once they get more comfortable with their skill sets." The red head casually stood from his seat and offered her his hand, "In order to get a guild to work with us, we'll need evidence to prove the existence of the orange players." The cheering grew louder as something shattered against the wall. Kagome cringed at the lack of discipline. Were they raised in a barn?

She slipped her hand into his palm and rose from her seat as well. There was no point staying here anymore. It was getting too crowded. "So you're saying that we're basically screwed for the time being."

"Unfortunately, yes." The young man was quick to flash her a reassuring smile. "But I don't think it'll be that way for long. Our first goal is to obtain evidence and level up quickly like everyone else. Once we have both of those conditions met we can move on from there."

The pair slowly began to make their way back down the corridor towards the individual suites. Ryoutarou purposely passed his room that had been located just a few doors down from the restaurant. Instead he kept walking to ensure that she made it back to hers safely. Besides, the noise coming from the drunkards would keep him up at this point. Might as well give them some time to celebrate and calm down a little.

"So how do we get the evidence?" Kagome pressed, honestly curious about the plan that they were starting to hatch. If it could save lives then she'd do it. She just needed to make sure that it wouldn't put them at too much risk.

"I'm still trying to figure that one out myself but don't worry. We'll cross that bridge when we get there." They stopped just outside of her door. He had yet to let go of her hand and she didn't feel the need to leave his presence either. The red head's face suddenly turned more serious than she'd ever seen it before. "Listen, whatever happens I want you to keep yourself safe. Understand? We can't afford for any risky moves."

He'd been worried earlier. Running straight into the encampment of an unknown enemy capable of causing serious harm if not death had been a fool hearted move. Sure it won them their victory in the end but it would've been a hollow one had she sustained any serious injuries or died. The young man grasped both of her hands in his.

"Don't go making any reckless decisions. We need you on this team."

She looked ready to argue with him but he stopped her with his next statement.

"You're one of the best damn strategists I've seen in a long time. Don't put yourself in unnecessary danger. We're all in this together." He gave her hands a firm squeeze to emphasize his point. "Come on, I think Shita is waiting for you." The man's expression lightened up. Kagome said nothing but thought over his words. Had she been too hasty earlier? She wasn't sure. All she knew was that in this world she was capable of being more than fodder for her enemy's entertainment. So she was going to do everything in her power to rise up the ranks. Sitting on the sidelines was no longer an option.

Ryoutarou moved to let her go but the dark haired woman placed her hand upon his elbow. He paused mid turn to glance at her curious.

"Thanks for tonight." She started simply, "It was fun." She tilted her head and smiled up at him. That was true. Tonight had been the most fun she'd had in a long time. It was also the only time since the launch that she'd allow herself some measure of down time in this world. Perhaps she needed to do it a little more often?

He beamed up at her, "No problem. I'll see you in the morning okay? Just try not to sleep through the meeting."

Kagome pouted as she casually smacked his arm with the palm of her hand. "Oh you're just terrible! I'm not even drunk any more!"

His grin widened, "Maybe not but that won't stop the hangover from coming!" The red head turned and left before she could protest further. She huffed but didn't press the topic. Her eyes watched as his back disappeared down the winding corridor towards his own suite. The young woman smiled to herself before opening the door of her room. The fears from before were starting to lift a bit. For now, she'd simply focus on one thing—getting some sleep.

Although Ryoutarou did have a point. Even if she wasn't drunk, she was definitely more tired that she should have been. Her eyes became lidded as her legs grew heavy with each step she took. Which meant that the incoming hangover was bound to cause her problems. Kagome shrugged the thought aside as she met Souta's expectant glare.

The teenager sat cross-legged on the edge of his bed. His hands were buried into the sleeves of his haori while his brows pulled into a deep 'V' shape.

"Spill." Her sibling demanded.

Kagome smirked, "Nah, I think I'd rather let you guess."

The ex-miko brushed past him. The scent of mead and honey clung to the very clothing that she wore. His expression darkened even further. Had she been drinking? This couldn't have ended well. After one night, she'd earned the reputation of being one of the lightest drinkers of her friends. Not only that but she also managed to be banned from being served any kind of alcohol by over three different bars. She was definitely a 'wild type' of drinker. The young man fought the urge to sigh. He sure hoped that Ryoutarou knew what the hell he was doing by encouraging her to consume the mead. He damn sure wasn't going to be the one to babysit her if she got too drunk.

"You're going to have a hangover." Souta warned.

"Yes, thank you mister obvious. Now let me get some rest before I actually _do_ sleep past the meeting tomorrow." She shot back at him. Kagome quickly dressed out of her gear and climbed into her bed. The sheets were rough and itchy but it kept her warm in the cool air of the night. She tucked her knees into her chest and curled her toes. The dim lights of their room suddenly switched off, throwing the siblings into the darkness of the night.

She curled even closer to herself under the covers. She wasn't looking forward to tomorrow. Azure eyes cracked open to glare at the all too familiar fissure splitting the almost perfect ceiling into two, unequal parts. There were too many unknown factors. One wrong move and it'd be their heads on the chopping block. Kagome closed her eyes. She let a rush of air pass through her lips in a deep sigh. Well all there was left to do now was wait and see what would happen. She only hoped that Kunimittz and Dynamm would see things their way. It didn't take long for sleep to finally claim the young woman in a dreamless slumber. In the end, the fate of their guide would be decided upon a vote.


	7. Promise

Disclaimer: I don't own jack!

_Pairing_ : Klein/Kagome; Souta/Lisbeth

_Suggested Listening_ : I'll Be Good by Jaymes Young

_**Broken Stone** _

**Chapter Seven** : Promise

Ryoutarou laughed as he glanced down at the sight of Kagome tangled up in her sheets. She was snoring away with one arm thrown over her eyes and her legs kicked out from the covers. Sunlight bled through the curtains into the tiny room while Souta sat upon the desk chair. The teen was giving her a disdainful pout.

"Why the hell did you let her drink so much?" The dark haired male complained, crossing his arms over his chest.

The guild leader shrugged, "She only had one. If I'd known she was such a lightweight I would've stopped her earlier." He rolled his shoulders in anticipation of what had to be done next. "Besides, the mead here is hell of a lot stronger than most sake. It takes some getting used to." The man flexed his hands and grasped the sheets wrapped tightly around the woman's calves. "Rise and shine!" Ryoutarou cheered, giving the cloth a harsh yank. Just as with Souta the day before, Kagome went tumbling sheets and all onto the floor. Azure eyes cracked open and glared at the ceiling.

"I hate you all." She muttered incoherently from the floorboards.

"Good, now time to get up. We've got a meeting to assemble." The red haired man turned his back and clasped his hand onto Souta's shoulder. "Make sure she's ready in ten minutes." The boy shrugged and waved him off. He waited until he heard the soft 'click' of the door shutting behind Ryoutarou.

"I told you so." Her brother quipped at her from across the room. An air of haughty righteousness emanated from his thin frame.

Kagome turned her neck to glare over at him, "Oh shut up. At least I had a reason to sleep in unlike a certain someone yesterday. Besides," She tilted her nose upwards and crossed her arms over her chest while still lying on the floor. "I have every right to drink if I so want to. I can take a night to let loose can't I?"

The teen scoffed, "Not when you get so hung over you have to _literally_ be dragged out of bed. Plus, 'let loose'? Really?" His smile turned devious and Kagome knew with a pit of fear in her stomach exactly where this conversation was going. "Last I checked 'letting loose' didn't involve getting so drunk that you'd run around not one, but _three_ different bars ordering every kind of shot and then pretend that you can fly off the end of the bar top." The young man laughed as he pointed at her, "Admit it, you can't drink without someone to babysit you. You'd fly off the handle and try to run around the neighborhood naked. Geez, I wonder where you get that crazy streak in you? It's definitely not from mom. Think the gene can skip a generation from jii-chan straight to you?"

A pillow smacked him square in the face.

"Shut up!" A bright flush crossed her cheeks. She had no denial. Although Kagome couldn't remember the night fully herself, her friends had regaled her of tales of the things she _did_ do. Now apparently she was never allowed to return to the three bars closest to her shrine. Pity, she'd wanted to try out the drinks there when she was sober enough to enjoy them.

The young woman quickly went through her menu screen and dressed herself in the lazy fashion. Some days, she really didn't feel like going through the full motion of getting ready. It'd taken less than five minutes for the siblings to wake up and fully prepare for the meeting soon to take place. It'd been decided that they'd host the vote in Harry One's room since his had the most space and they couldn't afford for others to listen in on their conversation.

The pair walked quietly down the halls of the _Sela_. The jeers from the night before were replaced with animated chattering as people went about their daily lives. There were glimpses of conversations that whizzed by them.

"If we attack here then that would give us a good advantage on the Mob Dogs…"

"No, no we can't do that. Without healing crystals we'd be screwed."

"Can't we just teleport back to the Town of Beginnings. It's getting too dangerous here."

"Teleportation crystal my ass. We'll _walk_ the way to the central tower if we have to. We haven't come this far for nothing!"

It were almost as if things here were starting to become normal. _Almost_. Her azure eyes narrowed at the thought. Soon, they'd have to shatter that false reality once again and shed light on the increasing danger that lurked within the forest. More than monsters, they now had to fear players who were willing and wanting to harm others for the sheer enjoyment of seeing another in pain. It was sickening. Her lips twisted into a deep frown. But what evidence could they collect to prove their existence? This notion alone struck her.

"Hey, you coming or what?" Souta pressed as he threw his sister a look over his shoulder. The young woman increased her pace and left the strangers behind. If this world was going to change then she wanted to be the one to front that change. Be it for better or worse, she wanted to see this game through to the end. Azure eyes hardened as they passed the final corridor and made it to Harry One's suite.

The youthful faced man greeted them with a swing of his door and kind smile. Once inside Kagome and Souta found the rest of their guild waiting for them. Ryoutarou stood from his perch by the windowsill and moved to the center of the room.

"Alright, now that the dead have arisen from their thousand year slumber we can officially start our meeting." The man shot her a playful glance. She scowled but said nothing. It wasn't like she had anything to shoot back at that comment with.

"First of all we need to make one thing clear," Hazel eyes hardened as he glanced from one member of the guild to the next. They were apprehensive but their fear was no longer as palatable as it had been. "Regardless of whether we focus our efforts on moving to the central tower or the orange players, we cannot for any reason give up hope on passing the information onto others. Information brokers have proven useless."

A grumble of agreement rose from the other men and Kagome found herself nodding along with that statement.

"So regardless we'll need to try to work with other guilds in the mean time. It'll be the fastest way of leveling up and it'd create a better way for us to circulate information more quickly." Dale and Kunimittz glanced up in concern. Working with those outside of their guild seemed rather risky at this point. Who was to say which guild was a 'green guild' and which was made up of those other players? Even the most incompetent of idiots could find away around the cursor coloring if they wanted to. All they'd need is a little bait.

"The Knights of the Blood Oath have already contacted us." Ryoutarou announced. The ex-miko glanced up at him. This was news to her. The Knights of the Blood Oath was a fairly recent guild that had gained some bit of notoriety by clearing several of the harder sections of the forest with a three party team. For as small as they were, they were definitely made up of powerful players. When had they been contacted? "We can forge an alliance with them and pass information quickly. Also we can use their strength to tackle the bosses on the front lines. Does that sound agreeable to you?"

Dynamm and Issin nodded but Kunimittz and Dale still remained apprehensive. However it was Harry One to ask the one question that was plaguing the back of their minds.

"Can we trust them?"

Ryoutarou sighed, "Your guess is as good as mine, but it'd be better than going in alone." A light breeze picked up from the open window. The scent of mead and steak filtered through the room. White curtains billowed gently in the current. Incoherent mutters turned to silence.

"So I'll ask you now, which would you rather do? We can haul ass to the central tower within a few days time but it'd wipe out nearly all of our reserves." The red head surfed through his menu and displayed all the back up items he'd managed to store away. On a normal forage it'd have been more than enough but for the trek that they'd be looking at to make it to the front lines in time, it'd be downright suicidal.

"Or we can strike up a deal with the Knights of the Blood Oath and try to hunt down the bastards that attacked us. It's your choice." The leader backed out of the vote. As they had an even number of members, he felt that it'd be much easier to decide with an odd number voting. Not only that but he wanted to ensure that everyone felt that the decision would be a fair one. His opinion would only drive a wedge between them.

"All for going to the front lines, raise your hands."

As expected, Dynamm and Kunimittz lifted their hands into the air. They were itching to level up quickly and start moving forward. However Kagome knew deep down that such a move would only hinder their success, if not put them in grave danger.

Ryoutarou nodded, "Okay so that's two. Now for all those in favor of going after the orange players please raise your hands."

Kagome, Souta, Dale and Issin raised their hands. Also as expected. Even though the numbers were right there was still one other person that had to voice their opinion. All eyes turned onto the youthful faced Harry One.

The man's expression turned serious as he contemplated his next decision.

"How do you propose we fight them?" If there was one thing the ex-miko learned about her guild mates then it was the fact that they were always direct and to the point. There was never any miscommunication or misunderstood intentions with them. It was this honesty that she appreciated the most.

"As suggested we pass information back and forth between us and the Knights of the Blood Oath." Kagome started. She grabbed onto her sleeve and pinched the cloth between her index finger and thumb. The fabric felt surprisingly soft against her skin. "We can gather evidence of their existence and then lay a trap for them."

Azure eyes met Harry One's onyx ones, "We'll hit those sons of bitches where it hurts the most." Her lips pulled into a smirk, "And they'll never even see it coming."

The man took a deep breath, "I'm in."

"It's settled. We'll take today and tomorrow off in order to prepare. Stock up and do some leveling if you can. Don't put yourselves into too much danger or exhaust your strength. We'll need you at your best." The red head clapped his hands together, "Everyone is dismissed!"

Souta tugged on his sister's sleeve—fully intending on dragging her out onto the field to level by themselves. The teen felt his brow twitch as Ryoutarou quickly followed them.

"You guys feel like hitting the fields together?" The man smiled as he rubbed the back of his head.

An evil thought crossed her mind as Kagome scowled playfully, "I don't know. You _did_ kick me out of bed this morning." She purposely posed the phrase in such a way that it'd draw the unwanted attention of their other comrades. "Sheesh there are other ways to wake a woman after a night out, you know." The young woman fought the urge to laugh at the red head's furious blush. He waved his hands in front of his face and tried to quiet her—already fretting that the other guys would hear the suggestive words and misunderstand.

"That headache was a killer and I'm _still_ sore all over. You're so evil, you know that?" Her lips quirked playfully as his expression turned horrified. A couple of the men quirked their brows but said nothing.

"Look who's talking!" He hissed through his teeth as quietly as he could. "I didn't try to embarrass you earlier and it wasn't like that!" His voice went up an octave.

The red head felt a heavy hand clap his back. Souta gave the man a few more pats on his shoulder blade and nodded his head in understanding. Oh he knew that feeling well. Even if he was annoyed that the guy was always butting in on his time with his sister, he'd give him some sympathy every now and then. The teenager turned on the ball of his heel and slowly exited the suite—leaving both Kagome and Ryoutarou behind. He'd give them this day but tomorrow would be a time for family bonding. The young man threw a devious smirk over his shoulder.

"Don't keep her out too late again Klein. We wouldn't want a repeat of last night now would we? She couldn't hardly even walk straight." Said main proceeded to sputter as he realized that he'd been drawn into a trap.

With that the younger of the Higurashi siblings left the room. Loud snickers from the rest of the Fuurinkazan and Ryoutarou's adamant denial echoed loudly down the halls of the _Sela_. Perhaps he'd give the man a little more credit. Had he been lesser of a person, his sister wouldn't have returned to their suite at all the previous night. For that, Souta was grateful. A tiny smile tugged at his lips. Although that didn't mean the guy was safe from the hell he'd give him every now and then. It came with a territory with them.

The young man hummed to himself as he casually strolled out of the Inn. The low calls of the cattle reverberated from the cobble stone streets and tightly knit homes. His azure eyes scanned the crowd and found a blacksmith stand that was nearly empty. He shrugged, what the hell. He needed to stock up on some supplies anyways.

The dark haired male approached the counter. He stopped before a girl around his age. Blossom pink hair fell into her face as she leaned over one of her latest creations. There was an incoherent mumble as she gave her work a once over.

"Good, now time to test its durability."

The woman lifted the curved blade into the air and slammed it against the stone of her working table. The sound of metal clashing against rock reverberated loudly in Souta's ears. He fought the urge to clap his hands over them. The blade in her hand shook lightly then steadied after a few seconds. No dents or signs of damage had been dealt to the weapon.

"That's a pretty sturdy sword you've made." The teen commented as he looked over the item.

She stop mid-swing of her arm to bring it down on the table again. Lifting the blade she offered it to him to look over.

"It's called Onfroi. It's a curved blade with high durability stats. It's one of the best I've made yet." The girl beamed as she pulled up all the information and statistics of the sword.

He twisted it in his hand and lifted it into the morning's light. The blade gleamed, the shimmering of silver reflecting onto some of the glass windows of the homes around them. Souta cringed as a curtain fell closed from the open window from the home the light had shined on—perhaps he needed to be more careful about who he was directing that at.

"It's pretty well made but it's not the type of sword that I'd use. You have any weapons specialized for tanks?" He inquired.

The pink-haired girl flashed a bright smile, "Of course! It's actually one of my specialties. I'm Lisbeth by the way." She offered him her hand.

"Shita." He returned, following her around the booth stand to look at some of the items she'd created. Most of them were pretty well done but a few still needed a bit of tweaking.

"So what would you prefer to specialize in? Durability or offense?" Her hands thumbed through a few pages of her recorded products. "I've got several for both so you just tell me what you want."

His lips quirked at her positive attitude. It was nice seeing it in other people than his guild. Everything had gotten so dark and depressing since this game started. He just wanted to enjoy having fun again.

"Offense if you please."

The two spent several minutes going over the different options that she had. Most of which had much higher levels than the Krieger but unfortunately he didn't quite have enough money to purchase any of them.

Souta's shoulders slumped, "I never knew how expensive these weapons got."

Lisbeth smirked, "You're paying for the quality, kid. So don't come crying to me when your sword breaks mid battle and you have to shift to using a short blade." Her voice dropped low as she whispered to him in a conspiratory tone. "Had that happen once to a customer who complained about the prices. Things didn't end well for him because he went too cheap."

The teen sighed. He knew she was right but that didn't stop the fact that he didn't have enough to get the equipment in the first place. Damn, maybe he really should have dragged his sister out to the fields today. He was in dire need of Col!

"Yeah, yeah I got you." He held out his hand and dropped some spare change into her hand. "That's all I got. What can I get for it?"

Her face twisted before breaking into a loud laugh, "You serious? Come on. I can't sell you a sword for this amount. Maybe a fork or knife but not a full blade."

Souta shrugged, "Eh, I tried." He couldn't stop himself from smiling at her laughing face. She was rather cute.

"Thanks for your help Lisbeth. I appreciated it." The teen remembered his manners as he shot her a genuine smile. "I'll be sure to pay you a visit after I get some Col."

The pink haired girl grinned back at him, "Alright but you better hurry it up, I'll be moving my shop to the central tower soon."

He nodded, "Yes ma'am! I shall returned in a fort night!" The dark haired male saluted her before taking off. Just this once he'd go solo and hunt for some cash. There were areas around _Lanslet_ that were meant to be easy pickings for players like himself. His lips pulled into a smirk. Besides, it'd be fun to crash Kagome's and Ryoutarou's date. They'd never see him coming until after he'd swipe all their cash and rewards right out from under their noses. With that thought in mind, he swiftly tracked down his sibling and their leader. This was going to be more fun than he'd ever hoped.

* * *

Kagome's shoulders slumped as Ryoutarou groaned.

"Sneaky little bastard." The red head complained. His companion could do nothing but nod in agreement. Her brother had swooped in on the last second of their final strikes every time they fought a monster. So with each battle not only did they not earn any experience points but they also lost out on all the items and Col because her brother was being a greedy little bastard, as Ryoutarou had so elegantly put it.

Although it was not all for naught. Kagome had learned how to issue a challenge to another player and fought her brother tooth and nail. At the end of the day she taught her younger sibling a very valuable lesson in not taking things that didn't belong to him. Specifically things that were meant to be hers.

"Oh come on, are you guys still pissed off?" Souta grinned with his arms casually folded behind his head. Due to the fact that he had yet to heal himself, the teen was currently sporting a dark bruise just below his left cheekbone.

Two pairs of eyes turned onto him with the full ferocity of their fury.

"Should I challenge him this time or do you want to do it again?" Ryoutarou quipped as he fought the urge to smack the boy upside his head.

"Nah, we'd risk killing him." The dark haired woman's expression turned devious, "But we can ban him from leaving the Inn until we leave. That should be fair enough."

The red head nodded in affirmation, "Sounds good to me."

Kagome crossed her arms over her chest and faced her brother fully, "From this point forward you're grounded."

"You can't ground me!" Souta cried out as he dropped his arms to his sides. "I can do what I want to here!" He fussed even louder. So maybe he was having a little bit of a temper tantrum. He'd admit that much but everything he did was all for fun. Being grounded shouldn't have even been part of the equation in a world like this!

"Oh I can and I will." She pressed a finger to her chin, "Don't forget that I _am_ second in command of this guild and I will be using that title to make sure you keep your toes in line, mister!" She prodded his chest with the same finger.

The teen pouted but said nothing further. The last thing he needed was to get himself into even more trouble than he already was in. His mouth clicked shut and a permanent frown marred his features. This sucked.

Night began to fall upon the town of _Lanslet_ and the trio found themselves walking quietly amongst the pastures that surrounded the village. Many of the monsters during the day had become fairly weak. So they decided to play a little bit past nightfall to see what would turn up in their search. Ryoutarou withdrew a blue crystal from his menu. He had a teleportation item ready to go in case they needed to get out of a dangerous situation quickly.

All three stopped as a blood curdling scream resonated from the forest. She snapped her head in the direction from which the sound came. It reminded Kagome of the screech of a barn owl—high pitched and eerie enough to send chills down her spine. Either that or a creature on the cusp of death. Azure eyes squinted as the form of a child came running out of the blackness that was the foliage that laid beyond the town's borders. The group found themselves stunned into silence as they watched the girl run as fast as she could. Her tiny legs carried her halfway across the fields before a monster was triggered.

"Help me!" She cried, directing her attention to Kagome. Her tiny palm reached towards her; fingers splayed out in a desperation. Without hesitation the young woman darted across the grassland and dove head first into battle. Her Eiki shimmered in the silver moonlight as she launched a series of Linear attacks into the misshapen beast that had been summoned. The health bar of her opponent dipped into the red before disappearing altogether. A familiar blue light engulfed the shadow-like beast before it shattered away.

Ryoutarou and Souta ran up to them, their eyes darting between their companion and the child that seemed so out of place in this dark and lonely world.

"Are you alright?" Kagome inquired as the last of the Post Motion wore off. She knelt before the girl that was still crying out loudly.

"You have to help us!" She began between her hiccups. "She went to save me but I didn't listen and now…" A fresh round of tears streamed down the girl's face. The ex-miko took her hands and held her steady.

"Slow down okay. We're going to help you. What's your name?" She tried to soothe the girl by drawing her attention away from her fears.

"Nagisa." She sniffed, "My name is Nagisa."

Kagome nodded, "Okay Nagisa, what do you mean that she went to save you? Who was trying to save you? What were you running from?" It was a technique she'd picked up in the Sengoku Jidai when dealing with a frantic Shippou. He often had to be led to give out detailed answers when he reached a state of panic. It was always heartbreaking to see a child so full of fear at such a young age.

"Mama," Nagisa started. Blonde strands of hair fell in front of her eyes as she bowed her head. "I didn't listen to her about going into the forest. I got lost so she went in after me. But then…" Her face twisted and her chin wobbled. The dark haired woman held her hands tighter.

"It's okay, take a deep breath."

A shuddering inhale and exhale of air was all they could hear for several moments. When she was able to breathe properly, Nagisa continued where she left off.

"It was other players. They took her." The young woman felt a deep sense of shock and rage hit her. The girl's hands shook in her grasp as tears fell down onto the grassy earth beneath them. "She was crying. I couldn't stop them. I ran away. I ran away… I ran…" The blonde relived the moment in the subconscious of her mind.

Kagome folded the traumatized girl into her lap and in the warmth of her embrace, "You're safe, Nagisa. Where did you last see your mother? We'll go look for her, okay?"

"It was by a river. That's where the other players took her from." The girl's cerulean eyes darkened as she pressed further. "They had orange diamonds above them. It was weird. I thought those were always supposed to be green. Mama even said so."

Ryoutarou stiffened as he hand fell to his blade. The orange players. The river basin. It all added up. He shot Kagome a fretful glance. She nodded at him in silent agreement. They would take Nagisa back to the _Sela_ and then mount a counter force in the morning to search for her mother. It'd be too risky to go in right now.

"It's alright now. We'll go looking for her tomorrow when it's bright out. I'm sure she'll be fine until then, okay?" Kagome hated saying those words as she was uncertain of the fate of the woman who was being held captive by that bunch of rogue mongrels. Even if she wasn't dead, the ex-miko wasn't sure if the woman would make it back in one piece mentally. She'd seen the effects of such type of captivity first hand back in the Feudal Era. Still, she needed to convince Nagisa to return with them. It'd be far too dangerous for her to remain.

The girl nodded, "You promise?"

A soft smile touched the young woman's lips, "I swear on my honor." She held up her pinky and offered it to the little girl.

Nagisa wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. The with a hesitant raise of her own finger, she curled her pinky around Kagome's and shook.

"Now you can't go back on it."

The young woman's smile turned grim.

"I won't."


	8. Anticipation

Disclaimer: I don't own jack!

_Pairing: Klein/Kagome; Souta/Lisbeth_

_Suggested Listening:_ Don't Get in My Way (Instrumental) by Zack Hemsey

"Without subtle ingenuity of mind, one cannot make certain of the truth of their reports." (Tzu 60)*

_**Broken Stone** _

**Chapter Eight** : Anticipation

Ryoutarou stood before the leader of the Knights of the Blood Oath. The man was rather advanced in age—with long gray hair and a face that left the etchings of his life story written into every curve. He'd received a message from the man shortly after returning back to the _Sela_ with Nagisa and the others. Instead of putting their meeting off further, the red head had decided to go ahead and try to convince him to lend them their support. With the revelation of a person's life at stake, they'd need all the help that they could get.

"So you suggest we mount an immediate search party?" The man inquired, resting his chin upon the back of his hands. His elbows were bent and placed squarely upon the caps of his knees.

"I'm suggesting that we investigate this matter further and work to bringing a mother back to her child unharmed." The young man shot back with an air of irritation. He'd long since given up on information brokers and as of now, this man was their only option that they could lean on to get the results that they desperately needed. Pride be damned, lives were at stake.

"I don't doubt your story about these orange players, Klein." The scarlet-armored man began, "But I can't risk throwing my men out to the wolves. Every life is precious here." The man known only as 'Heathcliff' warned. He sat back on his chair and lifted his outstretched palm towards the other man. "We'll work with you on this one occasion. However do not expect us to risk our lives if the situation turns drastic. Our main goal is only to retrieve the captive and return her safely. We can mount an attack squad later to deal with the full force of this orange guild."

Ryoutarou nodded, "Fair enough. Our guild will be prepared to leave at dawn. Meet us outside of _Lanslet_. We'll launch our attack then." The guild leader gave a respective bow at the waist. He lifted his head before trekking towards the threshold that led back to the main lobby of the _Sela_.

"Oh and Klein," Healthcliff started, an arrogant smirk tugging at his lips. "Have you considered my offer? After all, it _was_ the reason why I contacted you today."

Ryoutarou stiffened as his back became a straight line, "Forgive me but with the events that occurred, I haven't yet had the time to speak with the others about it." Hazel eyes narrowed at the man that still sat leisurely across the room. His hand fisted at his side as an inkling of foreboding sank into his being.

The arrogant smirk turned into a chastising smile, "I see. That's to be expected I suppose, especially with all the problems your guild has been having with those orange players. Please do tell me what they decide as well. This could become a rather fruitful endeavor for the both of us, if you know what I mean." Heathcliff rose from his perch and walked heavily across the rickety floorboards to the singular window of their meeting room. The heavy sound of the man's feet hitting against the grain of the wood echoed loudly in the red head's ears. His fists clenched harder at his side.

"I will. In the mean time I think it'd be best if I went ahead and see to it that my men are prepared. We'll meet at dawn."

Heathcliff closed his eyes as a small, knowing smile splayed across his lips.

"I'm sure you would."

Ryoutarou did not hear his words. His hand grasped the handle of the door and quickly swung it open, granting him passage into the swarming lobby of the overcrowded inn. He stepped out into chaos. People were crying and animated chatter of events buzzed about.

"He was there a few hours ago! He can't be dead!"

"Did anyone see what happened? What kind of monsters were they?"

"Monsters? They were players! They had orange cursors!"

"You information brokers are useless! Why didn't you tell anyone about this?"

Something crashed and shattered as hushed whispers grew into violent shouts. Sweat beaded Ryoutarou's brow as he listened in on the conversations going on around him. So their enemy was finally making their move. Soon, the rest of Sword Art Online would know about orange players. The need to gather evidence was no longer necessary. The guild had given themselves away. Still, one thing continued to bother him. What was their goal? Why were they doing this? Yvain's explanation the other day did nothing but exacerbate his fears.

A masked man. Players hurting other players. Information brokers unwilling to pass on vital news. Something was afoot and he wasn't sure if he liked the insinuation it brought forth.

"The man who killed Wyat, his cursor turned red." A man uttered quietly from his seat next to the lobby's check in station. His face was stricken with horror as the previous night's events played in the subconscious of his mind. "It was orange at first but once Wyat died, it turned red." Dark eyes widened in terror. "Oh god, he really killed him. He really killed Wyat."

That caught Ryoutarou's attention. Green. Orange. Red. They weren't just random colors. They were the representation of their characters. Hazel eyes widened in disbelief. Green, the normal player. Orange, the player who'd hurt another. Red, the killer. Player killers. That's what the orange guild was becoming. He grasped the side of his head and cringed. But why? What reason was there to kill here? The percentage of the people playing Sword Art Online versus the amount of those he'd seen in their guild was abnormally large. There couldn't be that many bloodthirsty psychopaths walking amongst them in this death game, could there?

Fear settled deep within his gut. Then again, how many still doubted the death counts that were continuously rising with each passing day? All it'd take is just a single person to believe that they simply couldn't log out of a glitched game. Just one person to believe that death in this world did not mean death in the real world. He clenched his eyes shut as the realization hit. It wasn't that these people were craving bloodshed, it was that they still believed that this game was innocent. How foolish! Teeth gnashed as rage welled.

"I want you to tell me exactly what happened." Ryoutarou inquired with much more calmness than he felt. The leader was furious but oddly, he was able to physically suppress his rage.

The man trembled as he held his head in his hands.

"We were at _Sagard's Pub_ last night. Wyat wanted to go into the forest to level up some more but our guild wasn't ready." The man's legs began to bounce as his eyes grew wild from fear. "So this guy, I think he called himself Yvain, told us that he could help out."

"We shouldn't have trusted him!" His voice turned into a piercing screech. "Why? Why did we follow him? If I'd just listened to my instincts then Wyat would still be alive!" Tears dripped noisily onto the stranger's leather boots with soft 'tups'. "It's my fault! It's all my fault! I'm sorry! Wyat I'm so sorry!"

The red head chose not to engage the man much further. Other players surrounded him and tried to lessen his grief but to no avail. Incoherent ramblings turned into violent screams of agony. There was nothing that could be done to calm the man's grief.

Sensing a pair of eyes on him, Ryoutarou turned his gaze onto a familiar face. A burly man he recognized by the name of Loys stood nonchalantly at the threshold of the inn's exit. Loys had his thick arms crossed over his chest as his dark eyes surveyed the reactions around him with such intense scrutiny that it caused the red head to pause. He was an information broker he'd tried to talk to the previous day about the orange players. However the man merely laughed him out of the lobby and into _Sela_ 's tightly packed corridors. He'd been quick to brush off the claims. So why did he not seem shocked now that there was undeniable proof? In fact, he seemed downright furious! None of this was making sense. His eyes watched as the man slowly turned and left the inn silently; no one save for Ryoutarou any wiser to his subtle exit.

Turning on the ball of his heel, the Fuurinkazan's leader marched his way back to his second in command's suite. Something wasn't right and he had a feeling he knew what it was. The dimly lit passageways were even smaller tonight with the other players attempting to pass by him in groups of two or three. The man barely paid any mind as one roughly threw their shoulder into his; forcing him to brush up against the coarse, brick walls of the hallway. The skin of his bare arm would have scraped had they been in the real world. Instead the appendage flickered a bright blue before returning back to its normal state.

Ryoutarou hated it. As much as he enjoyed how truly realistic this world was, there were parts that often reminded him that this was simply a false reality. This world was a fake one. But the deaths here were just as potent as the ones outside of the game. The fact that others took pleasure in killing for fun infuriated him.

By the time he reached the Higurashi sibling's suite, he'd become fretful with worry about what was to happen to the woman that'd been taken. He rapped at the door thrice. Not bothering to announce himself the way he normally would have.

The heavy wooden door cracked open to reveal Souta glaring up at him suspiciously. Nagisa's soft cries resonated from behind him along with Kagome's hushed words of soothing comfort.

"Now isn't exactly a good time." The teen bit out in irritation.

"Step aside. We have some important business to discuss." The red head's voice dropped low and any sense of argument Souta may have had fled him. It was rare for the older man to become this serious. The teen swung the door open fully to let their leader in.

Ryoutarou paused at the sight of the child curled up in his comrade's lap. His eyes softened at the sight of the blonde crying loudly into Kagome's chest with her tiny fingers clutching the cloth of the older woman's white haori. The ex-miko brushed the girl's hair out of her face and tucked her head beneath her chin.

"We'll find her in the morning, okay? You should get some rest."

Nagisa shook her head as she took a shuttering breath, "I can't." The girl's voice came out in a broken and heaving sob. He felt his own heart break a little inside. The chances that her mother was even still alive at this point was now extremely slim.

"Hey now, take a deep breath. Like this." Kagome encouraged, sucking in air in demonstration. The girl mimicked her action but with far less success. The inhale was interrupted by the quivering of lips and shuttering of her cries. "Now let it out." The young woman pressed further as she did as she instructed. Nagisa let her breath loose with a quivering chin.

Ryoutarou stood silently, taking up a spot by the window. He'd never been all that great with children. So he waited as his comrade did her best to soothe the child's well-placed fears.

Cerulean eyes slowly began to close as Kagome rocked the girl back and forth on her lap, humming a comforting tune that her mother once did for her. The dark haired woman sighed as the blonde's grip on her haori slackened. She gently stood with the girl in her arms and pulled the sheets of her bed back. With practiced hands, she laid Nagisa's sleeping form onto the mattress before grasping the edge of the comforter and pulling it up to her neck. She tucked the girl in before turning her attention to Ryoutarou.

"Were you able to find anything out?" The young woman asked directly. Her azure eyes pierced his hazel ones.

He nodded, "Yes and you're not going to like it." The man scratched the back of his neck as he glanced at the girl. "I went ahead and met with the Knights of the Blood Oath. Their leader messaged me the other day so I took the time to get their support here." Ryoutarou shifted from his spot on the wall. He stood fully and approached his comrade. "We'll launch a rescue mission in the morning. They'll be supporting us with some of their forces as well."

The red head sighed, "Although I don't know how much good it'll do." The man gestured towards the hallway beyond the suite's closed door. The sounds of other players still rushing about and chattering filtered through the empty slit between the end of the door and the floorboards. Shadows flittered across the tiny access, momentarily blocking out the light as people moved about in shuffled jogs.

She cocked her head to the side and glanced up curiously, "What do you mean?"

Ryoutarou took a deep breath, "Nagisa and her mother weren't the only ones who were targeted." His voice dropped low as he pulled both Kagome and Souta closer to speak to them in a soft whisper; ensuring that the girl didn't overhear their conversation. He didn't trust that she was completely asleep. The less the child knew about the predicament they were finding themselves in, the better. "There's already been at least two other players attacked. One of which was killed by Yvain."

Kagome reeled back, "How do you know?" She asked hotly. Fear and anger rising at the revelation.

His eyes hardened, "It's the reason why everyone is so riled up right now. The survivor made his way back to the inn and is regaling his tale to the rest of the people here. Everyone is in a state of panic." He folded his arms over his chest, "Although I have a suspicion that there's a very good reason why the info brokers didn't want to help us out."

The red head glanced over at Souta.

"I'm going to need your help." The teen stiffened as he was brought to full attention. "The place where Yvain picked them up was at a pub in town called _Sagard's_. We're going to head there and check into a few things. It's still in the safe zone so we should be okay so long as we don't leave _Lanslet_ 's borders."

He directed his attention towards Kagome, "I need you to wake the guys and have them get ready. We'll strike the river basin at dawn with the Knights of the Blood Oath." She nodded at him in affirmation.

"Consider it done."

They spent the next several minutes going over their plans. It'd been decided that only Souta and Ryoutarou would go to _Sagard's Pub_ as the teenager had already reached a higher level than Dale and his tank status would be a safeguard against surprise attacks that might come up. Also, by leaving Kagome behind to prepare the men, they'd still have one of their leaders to help guide their guild to victory at dawn's battle in the case that either of them were late.

Suddenly, Heathcliff's suggestion echoed in the back of his mind.

_Everything comes at a price_.

The man had said to him at their first meeting.

_Information does not come cheaply_.

He had been warned. The red head shook his head. He knew that he couldn't put off the request much longer. As the Fuurinkazan's leader, he needed to be as open and honest with his comrades as possible. He couldn't do anything to instill fear or doubt into the others. They were all dependent on each other's strength just to make through the end of each day. Still, the young man felt anxious over the upcoming conversation.

"I've been meaning to ask," Kagome started as she brushed the tips of her fingers down the length of his arm. It was a gesture she often used to provide comfort to him when he was nervous like this. The effect was nearly immediate as his mind calmed and the tension in his body left him. "When did you get the chance to talk to the Knights of the Blood Oath? Last I heard they were well on their way to the central tower."

Ryoutarou sighed, "It was by chance really. While we were still hunting through the forest I ran into Heathcliff, their leader. He'd apparently heard something about us through one of his men and made an offer." Hazel eyes darkened as his grip on Kagome's hand tightened. "It wasn't necessarily a good one though."

She interlocked her fingers through his, brushing her thumb over his knuckle. "What did he offer?"

The young man sucked in a deep breath through his teeth. It was now or never. "He wanted us to renounce Fuurinkazan as a guild and join up with him under the Knights of the Blood Oath."

She stared at him blankly, "You're kidding right?"

He shook his head, "No. I wish I was but Heathcliff was serious. He wants us to join his guild and disband our own."

"Yeah, no." Souta quipped as he crossed his arms over his chest. The teen's eyes turned fierce as he glared over at their leader. "Why haven't you told him to shove his offer right up his ass already? We've made it this far on our own. We'll be just fine without their support."

"Language!" Kagome hissed as she gestured towards the sleeping Nagisa. The little blonde curled her hands close to chest before turning over; attempting to block out the conversation that was taking place within the same room. The teen huffed as he puffed his cheeks out in a childish pout.

"Come on kid, you know we need their support. Especially in the morning." Ryoutarou sighed. The red haired man tilted his head to the side, cracking a few joints in the process. "I want to talk to the others first before we turn him down. They have the right to their opinions as well."

The ex-miko's brows furrowed. She understood his logic and knew why they would have to talk to the others, but she did not like the thought of any of their men leaving them halfway through. It just didn't feel right. Everything about this whole situation was rubbing her wrong. Another question came to the forefront of her mind.

"Hey Ryoutarou, you said something earlier about others being attacked." She dropped her hand from his grasp and crossed her arms over her chest. "How are the information brokers taking the news? After all the hell we've gone through to try to give them the warning, I'm sure they must be shaking in their boots by this point." The young woman bit out more harshly than intended.

Hazel eyes narrowed, "That's the problem." His voice dropped even lower. "Loys, that broker we contacted, he didn't even react." The man ran a hand through his hair before tightening the knot of his bandana. "He was just standing there watching the whole thing. That's why we need to go to _Sagard's Pub_ tonight. Yvain used it as a place to lure his victims. The likelihood of another orange player being there is pretty high." He clapped his hand on Souta's shoulder. "We get in, look around and try to get as much information as possible. We aren't going in to fight. This is just a reconnaissance mission."

Kagome's expression soured just a bit. She didn't like the thought of her brother being put in harm's way. Azure eyes flickered between Souta and Ryoutarou. It was true that she trusted their leader to bring her family home safely but this was an entirely different situation than the ones she was used to being in. Could she really just let her brother go somewhere that was so dangerous? She'd rather be the one to go for that reason alone.

Souta's eyes hardened, "Alright but we return by dawn. I want to get back before the rescue mission."

The red head nodded at him, "That's fine. That was the goal anyways." Noticing her worried expression, he cast his second in command a reassuring glance. "I'll bring him back safe. Just focus on getting the others ready."

Her azure eyes hardened, "You'd better. Otherwise I'll have to kick your ass." Ryoutarou laughed lightly at the not so subtle threat. He understood her fears, but this was not an area that he was going to fail at. He'd make damn sure that they survived. It was his job after all.

"Also," She began as her grip on his hand tightened. Kagome lifted her free hand and grasped onto Souta's as well. "I have one order for the both of you." They glanced at her in unison. "Regardless of what happens, your only goal is to get your asses back here safe. I don't care what you have to do, but just come back. That's all you have to do."

He smiled as she reiterated his own demand of her from the previous day.

"Yes ma'am!" The men responded in kind.

"Good, now if you excuse me I have an army to raise." The young woman teased as she left the room.

Ryoutarou found himself staring at the line of her back just before she disappeared behind the hardwood of their door. She always did manage to surprise him. The young man turned to look over at the teen next to him.

"Let's get going. The sooner we get there the sooner we can get back to the others."

The dark haired male nodded, "Right."

Somehow, they both had a feeling that this trip was going to reveal more than they ever hoped.

* * *

Souta's nose twisted in disgust as they took up a spot at the end of the bar. The smell of body odor, mead and rotten meat clung to the pub as if it were a second skin. Everything was darkly lit to help 'improve' the atmosphere as the owner of _Sagard's_ boasted to his patrons. Said man was leaning across the bar and not tending to his customers; letting his sole female bartender see to the needs of his customers.

It wasn't all that unusual for players to start business of their own and this place just so happened to be one of their startups. Unfortunately it also gained the reputation of being one of the rowdiest bars on the first floor. Azure eyes narrowed as a gruff looking male attempted to grab the young woman serving their mead by her arm. She turned away from him, his hand merely grazing over the barest hint of her skin before meeting air. How disgusting. How did guys like that live with themselves? He looked away from the sight to his leader.

Ryoutarou appeared just as disturbed by the sight but chose to keep a low profile. They couldn't draw attention to themselves here. Not until they got their answers. Then all bets were off. The pair picked at their steaks that had come charred to a dark black and smelling of expired boar meat. The very thought of putting some of the rotten, virtual flesh in his mouth made Souta want to gag. Who in the hell would _want_ to pay to eat this? The only thing it'd do would be to give someone a bad case of Montezuma's Revenge.

The red head suddenly nudged his arm with a sharp push of his elbow, "There." The older man's index finger pointed towards the entrance. "That's Loys. Keep an eye on him." The teen's eyes focused on the stocky man that entered the shop. He looked right at home here with all the people jeering and making a mockery of themselves. Their target glanced around the pub nervously before settling into a spot a few seats away from them. He waved down the bartender. She leaned over the counter and pressed her ear closer to the man to hear what he had to say. He cupped his hand over the shell of her ear and whispered something. The young woman nodded before walking to the other end of the bar. She leaned over, grabbed something, then made her way back to her 'patron.'

Ryoutarou sipped at his water as he watched intently. What exactly was going on? Hazel eyes narrowed as the server slid an envelop across the counter towards the man. He strained his ears and tried to listen in on the conversation.

"That's everything?"

The woman nodded, "That's all Yvain left for you. Tedric can help you out with the rest." He saw her motion towards a cloaked man hiding in the shadows of the back of the pub. Loys looked between her and the stranger.

His dark eyes narrowed as he growled out, "You fucking kidding me? Another one of those damn goons? A cloak isn't going to hide his fucking cursor."

She shrugged, "I suggest you speak to him to find out what's going on for yourself. We weren't told much." The woman leaned across the counter and mentioned, "Although if I were you I'd high tail it as soon as possible. Sounds like Yvain and the others are going rogue for the time being. It's as they say, got to look out for number one right?" She slapped a final bill onto the plate in front of him, "But pay up first. Can't have you skipping town without paying for your tab."

Loys' face dropped. He scowled, fishing around in his pockets for some spare change to pay off the debt that he owed the pub.

Ryoutarou pushed his meal away as he motioned for Souta to stand.

"Try not to draw attention to yourself. We're going to have to get closer to that Tedric guy to find out the rest. Now come on, follow me." The red head dropped the money that he owed the waitress along with a decent tip onto the spot he just vacated. The pair quietly slipped behind the mass of moving people and jeering males into a table a few spots away. The darkness of the pub covered their presence and for that Ryoutarou was grateful.

The leader of the Fuurinkazan guild listened in again as Loys made his way to the back table where his contact was waiting for him.

The cloaked man started the conversation first, "I take it that the payment was sufficient for your services?" The voice was cool and smooth. There was also an edge of arrogance that attached itself to the man.

"Like hell it was." Loys bit back, slamming his fist onto the table. Tedric's water swished violently before settling back into place. "I kept you guys' presence under wraps and then you fuck that all up by going on a fucking killing spree? Tell me, what in the fuck were you thinking? You attacked not one but _five_ groups of people! I can't show my face around here because of that stupidity!" There was never a time where the less than reputable information broker looked more intimidating than now. His arms were flexed with the desire to strike as his lips were pulled back into a ferocious snarl. Scars from his past fights in the real world littered the flesh that was visible within the darkly lit pub.

"Due to unforeseen circumstances we needed to take drastic measures." Tedric commented without a hint of emotion. All haughty tones were quickly replaced with a business-related baritone. "You did your job splendidly. Now, take your money and return to your shop. I'm sure your family is missing you." The cloaked figure casually flicked dirt from his nails with a short blade.

"Unforeseen circumstances my ass. You guys got kicked around not once, but _twice_ by that Fuurinkazan guild." Loys smirked as he leaned across the table. "Let me tell you something about that particular group. They're fucking _hell bent_ on seeing you guys brought down and judging from the damage they've done to your little cluster fuck of psychos I'm pretty damn sure they'll succeed."

Loys leaned back in his chair and draped his arms over the backs of the empty seats next to him arrogantly. "Now tell me, why should I be afraid of a dumbass like you? Your idiotic leader, Yvain, couldn't even hold his own against that tiny shit storm of a guild. What makes you think I'll bow out to you now? Besides, you've got another problem coming your way." His lips stretched wider, revealing a set of broken and yellow-stained teeth. "The Knights of the Blood Oath are in town and I've heard from the grapevine that they're forming an alliance with the Fuurinkazan. You guys are fucked."

Tedric traced the pointed tip of his knife around the ring of his cup. The clear liquid shifted from one side to the next. "Then I take it that you're backing out of our deal?"

"You bet your pretty little ass that I am." Loys leaned his neck from side to side; cracking a few joints while he was at it. "Take your fucking money. I don't need it. Might as well give it to the other guys you got under your thumb." The cloaked man glanced up at him in curiosity. "What? You think I wouldn't know about that? I might not have a great reputation but I _am_ still an info broker. Nice try though. Keeping us silent with threats and money just to protect your weak asses from getting fried by the stronger guilds." The bulky man pushed the envelop back towards the stranger. "I'll place my bet on the other guys but thanks for playing. Now if you excuse me, I've got to skip town because of your stupidity. Later." With that, the info broker stood from his seat. His hip bumped into the table roughly, knocking over Tedric's glass of water and sending the drink spilling across the wood.

"Oops, sorry about that. I guess I don't even know my own strength." Loys taunted. The bulky man laughed caustically as he made his swift exit.

Instead of leaving, Ryoutarou chose to wait and see what this new person would do. His eyes watched intently as Tedric opened up his menu screen. He couldn't see what the cloaked man was doing exactly but he was certain that he was sending someone a message. A sensation of foreboding overcame the red head. This couldn't end well. He watched as the man casually finished his message and then set to work on drying the water from his blade. The imagery sent a chill down the red head's spine.

"Come on, we need to leave." The man encouraged as he pulled Souta from his seat with a rough jerk. "If we stick around too long they'll catch onto us. Let's go."

The teenager nodded as he followed after their leader. The two never noticed Tedric's eyes pursuing them out of the pub. Nor did they see him stand and take the same path as they did. Shadows flickered around the cloaked man as he made his way out into the darkness. It was time.

**Works Cited:**

** Tzu, Sun. _The Art of War_. Trans. Lionel Giles. New York: Barnes and Noble Books, 2003. Print.


	9. Never Again

Disclaimer: I don't own jack!

_Pairing_ : Klein/Kagome; Souta/Lisbeth

_Suggested Listening_ : Night of the Hunter by Thirty Seconds to Mars

"Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected." (Tzu 9).

_**Broken Stone** _

**Chapter Nine** : Never Again

Kagome rested her hands on her hips as she glanced over the glassy-eyed men standing before her. Pale lips twisted in an expression of worry. Her azure gaze moved from one man to the next as she attempted to seek out two specific people.

"Where the hell are they?" The young woman bit under her breath. An index finger tapped lightly against the scarlet metal of her armor. The light of dawn began to peak above the emerald shade of the forest's treetops. They'd have another hour of darkness before the sun would break fully. If they were going to make their move, then they would need to do it quickly to maintain some semblance of an advantage.

"What shall we do?" Heathcliff inquired from beside her. His age-worn face betrayed no concern he may have felt. Instead Kagome could only sense a minor air of haughty scorn coming from the other leader.

She sighed, "We'll have to move forward as planned. Klein and Shita will meet up with us when they're ready." She took a step forward and directed her attention towards her comrades. "Look sharp! We'll be moving out in five minutes. Gear up now while you still have the chance."

The members of the Fuurinkazan guild whispered amongst each other. Going into battle without their leader was not how they wanted to win this fight however they could not blame their second in command for her decision. After being filled in on the situation, none of them could contest that the girl's mother would have to come first. Both Klein and Shita were more than capable players of defending themselves. The woman they were to rescue, however was not. It was agreed that if the two did not show by dawn then they'd proceed with the rescue mission as planned and then search for their guild mates once the woman was safely returned to her child.

Kagome turned her full attention onto Heathcliff. Her gaze was sharp as a fierce protectiveness rose within her, "Am I to assume that you'll uphold your end of the agreement as well?"

The grey haired male gave her a placating smile; serving only to infuriate her all the more.

"I've already sent my comrade, Alith, to see to the girl's needs." The man turned his back, opening up his menu screen in the process. He scrolled through his items before equipping only his strongest armor and weapons. "We should focus more on our strategy of getting that woman back from the orange players."

The ex-miko fought the urge to plunge her Eiki into Heathcliff's exposed back. It was a sad fact that they were in the safe zone. Still, the man was right about one thing. The young woman opened up her map and glanced over the icons currently being displayed. There were a few higher leveled monsters in their path to the river basin than the other day. This she could attribute to the darkness that still cloaked the forest and surrounding town of _Lanslet_. As soon as dawn would break the creatures known only as 'Shadow Monsters' would dissipate. They were shifty beings that had no form and were extremely difficult to kill. Fortunately their numbers were small but they still posed a great enough threat that even the strongest of players would avoid moving about at night to avoid being trapped in a losing battle with one.

She looked over every snaking and winding path that cut through the greenery. There looked to be only a single road that led from their location down to the river basin. Her brow furrowed as she glared at that singular path. They were sitting ducks. If they came straight in through the premade route then they'd find themselves on the wrong end of their enemy's blade. The young woman zoomed further into the map and glanced over the spaces between trees and monster locations. So far the area surrounding the basin was still fairly clear of monsters. The only difference was that this time treasure icons were starting to appear. Azure eyes darkened. Were they trying to entice them into coming down that road?

Sure the unopened treasure would be enough to make anyone assume that a guild had gone hunting and cleared the area; giving the treasures just enough time to respawn while the monsters would take just a tad bit longer. But she knew better than to assume as such. These orange players were not ones to be trifled with. Their previous experience in engaging them in battle taught Kagome that much. Still, her eyes were drawn to the empty spot located just next to the river. Something was wrong.

"They know we're coming." She stated to the group with unabashed certainty.

The men stopped what they were doing and glanced up at her. Heathcliff quirked his brow but did not ask her to clarify why she thought the way she did. Instead he opted for another approach.

"What do you suggest we do?"

Using her thumb and index finger, she pinched the fingers together to zoom out of the image displayed on her map.

"Simple, we strike where they won't see us coming." The dark haired woman drew a line connecting their current position to the river basin. The path her finger took lit up a bright yellow, twisting and snaking through the forest in awkward turns away from all forms of monster icons and main roads. If they were going to succeed, then they'd need to come in quickly and silently.

"Heathcliff," Kagome's voice took on an authoritative tone, "Your party will play forward in this mission. Your group is small but strong. So you'll take the main path and cause a distraction. While the others will be busy trying to fend you off, our group will swoop into the unprotected areas." She met the eyes of her comrades in fierce determination. "We can win this battle so long as we focus on getting in and getting out. We take the orange players by surprise, grab the woman and then we'll all get the hell out before they realize what just hit them. Sound like a plan?"

They nodded at her with determination written in their eyes.

"Good, we leave now." She faced the open mouth of the night-darkened forest. The woman's mind wandered to her two missing companions. It wasn't like Ryoutarou to fall back on his word. A feeling of foreboding began to sink into her stomach. She only hoped that whatever was keeping them gone so long, would end soon. They'd need their strength on this raid. Her fingers flexed at her side as she gazed at the impending prison of trees and virtually created nature. She needed to be strong; not for herself but for those who were counting on her.

Kagome glanced over her shoulder at the rest of the guild. The men shared a look of anticipation and worry. They were scared and she couldn't blame them. It was in this moment that she was grateful that her mother had been so adamant about her studies in literature both domestic and foreign. Truly the best inspiration for her always seemed to come from the those few masters of the written word.

She sucked in a breath, "Do not go gentle into that good night," The young woman raised her Eiki into the air and faced her comrades fully. "Old age should burn and rave at close of day." They raised their blades with her; touching the tips of their swords together in a show of solidarity. "Rage, rage against the dying of the light."**

"Fear not, for we will rage against that good night." She dropped her rapier and took her stance at the front of their two party team. Without Ryoutarou and Souta their numbers were a little uneven, but it didn't matter. They would meet up with them soon enough and then the fight would really get going. That was something she was absolutely certain in. Fear dwindled into determination.

Heathcliff watched the exchange in silent consideration. His eyes moved between the members of the Fuurinkazan guild and noticed that the trepidation that caused their hands to tremble was no longer present. They were clear minded and prepared for battle. The edge of his lips tugged upwards. He had no issues handing control of this operation over to her. She was more than equipped to handle whatever situation would be waiting for them down by the river basin.

The groups splintered off. The Knights of the Blood Oath followed the tiny dirt path into the forest. Heathcliff paused as he glanced over at Kagome's group. She was already leading her guild deep into the darkness of the unknown. He watched until her figure disappeared completely from his line of sight. The older man turned the base of his heel. Dark eyes hardened as he charged into the forest.

* * *

Ryoutarou glanced over his shoulder.

"Is he still following us?" The red haired man asked, taking another alleyway back into the crowded center of the village square. Both he and Souta had nearly made it to the _Sela_ before they'd noticed the tail that'd been following them.

The man known as 'Tedric' walked behind the pair at a much slower and purposeful pace. His cloak was still drawn up, hiding his face completely from view. The guild leader scowled as he tried to lose the man once more by feeding through a busy path. Both he and Souta cut through people and dove between booths to try to lose the persistent opponent. However it'd been almost an hour now and they were still no closer to getting away from the orange player than before. Their only option left was to confront him. They couldn't risk blowing their carefully laid plans by leading him into their encampment.

"Come on, we're going to hit the fields. It's our best shot of taking this guy down." The older male pushed his charge towards the nearest exit. It, thankfully, was the southernmost gate that led directly back into the forest that they needed. At the very least they could try to wrap up this battle quickly and return to the group before they'd set out on the rescue mission.

They quickened their pace as they reached the edge of the safe zone. Their target followed suit. Like a shadow, 'Tedric' appeared behind them. The cloak ruffled as a gentle rush of wind blew past them. Ryoutarou turned on the base of his heel. This would be a two on one battle of strength. There'd be no need for running.

"So," The red head began as he withdrew his blade, "How long were you planning on following us?" The leader chose not to beat around the bush. They had other matters to attend to—namely getting back to their guild and seeing the rescue operation through to its end.

The shrouded figure gave a soft snort. He raised a gloved hand and opened his menu. A set of two elegantly curved blades appeared from his clothed wrists; the lines of the blades following parallel with the bone of his forearm. Wrist reapers. They were incredibly rare and dangerous weapons. Hazel eyes narrowed in concern. This wasn't good. Wrist reapers were hard to defend against in a close range battle. Long range weapons would be more efficient. Especially since the angle of the swords on his wrist gave their enemy an advantage when returning a strike. However there was one weakness. Their opponent's movements would have to be limited as forward blows would be nearly impossible for him to achieve with the arch of the sword. He'd have to use mostly spiral attacks to be able to land a lethal hit.

Ryoutarou's lips quirked, "Not much of a talker? Alright then. Shita!" He called out to the younger male. "Get ready." The two shifted their stances into offensive ones.

"You won't save her." Tedric began with a light tone of haughty confidence. He put his arms in front of his chest, creating an 'X' shape with his arms and weapons—forming an impenetrable barrier to his heart. A low howl from a mob dog resounded in the distance followed by vicious snarls.

Souta glanced between their foe and his leader. Nervous sweat beaded his brow. Ryoutarou was faster but he was stronger in regards to brute strength. They'd need to combine their efforts here to win. A twig snapped nearby and his leader charged.

The male wasted no effort diving around the barrier of blades. He raised his own curved sword in an upwards strike. The edge of his weapon cut into the dark fabric, leaving a trail of red light in its wake.

"Watch us." Ryoutarou commented as the hood that covered the man's face shattered away. He stumbled back just a step where Souta was lying in wait. The teen thrust his heavy blade deep into Tedric's exposed side. The young man watched as the health bar dropped from green to yellow. His own cursor shifted and turned orange. The teen cringed.

The man heaved as his shoulders moved up and down with each pained breath. His face was shadowed but the two could clearly see his mouth curve upwards into a twisted smirk.

"You're already too late." The sadistic smile grew even wider, exposing a set of white and perfect teeth. "That girl's mother is already dead." Tedric tilted his head upwards and laughed heartily into the early dawn's air. "It's all your fault you know." Ryoutarou could only watch in horror as their enemy stood to his full height. The man didn't appear out of the ordinary. In fact he just had a plain set of hazel eyes and matching hair. There was nothing substantial about his looks—other than the horrific smile. "When you attacked us the other day we had no other choice. We had no money. We were almost dead. We had to get our skills up somehow."

"By attacking innocent people!?" Souta snarled as he pressed his blade to the soft flesh of the other male's neck.

Tedric broke out into a hysterical fit of laughter, "Innocent people? My aren't you so naïve!" He twisted on the ball of his heel and slashed at the teen's stomach. Souta grunted as pain seared across his abdomen. Thankfully his armor took the brunt of the hit but even that didn't stop his health from depleting. "We're all just animals. Our only focus is protecting ourselves. Why do you think there's even guilds in the first place? For the greater good?" The male snorted, "Of course not. The answer is simple. We band together to make sure that we, ourselves, survive in the end."

Tedric darted forward, his wrist reaper aimed for Souta's own neck. Ryoutarou jumped in front and quickly used his curved blade to block the hit. Sparks flew as the two weapons clashed, grinding against one another in a test of raw strength.

"So what if it means killing a few people. What are their lives truly worth when weighed against our own?"

Ryoutarou gnashed his teeth as he pushed back against their opponent. He quickly grabbed his charge and hauled him to his feet.

"So killing a defenseless man and a girl's mother is your way of 'defending yourself?" The red head ducked under another swipe of the wrist reapers. He brought the hilt of his sword into the man's chin; sending him flying backwards. "Explain to me how that works because I don't see your logic!"

"You still don't see it?" Tedric inquired from his spot upon the grassy plains. "I suppose expecting either of you to see reason was foolish on my end." The man slowly stood as the air around them shifted once more. His tattered cloak fluttered in the wind as his eyes took on a dark shimmer in the virtual dawn's light. "Still, allow me to put it this way." He ran forward once more but found his attack by both Souta and Ryoutarou simultaneously. The two teammates growled as they dug their feet into the ground, refusing to move an inch. "We're all monsters. All we need is the right _motivation_ to become the creatures we know we all are." He found himself thrown back by the combined strength of the two men. "Fathers. Mothers. Children. What does it matter? If killing them secures our own safety then we'd do it. Blood is only that. There's no real bond tying a person to their 'loved ones' as your kind would put it."

Tedric stood as his blades dissipated from his arms, "We're only here to survive. That's the whole point of this _game_ , now isn't it? Our kind survives by killing. So how will your kind survive? By killing us in return?" The male laughed once more as the two surrounded him. "You might want to think carefully before you let your sword fly. A red cursor does not fade for a month. Then another five days before orange returns to green. You'll be marked men."

"What does that make you?" Souta snapped, having heard enough of the vile creature's chatter.

"Me?" The stranger replied sarcastically, "Why I thought you'd know by now. I'm the worst of the worst. I've been marked since the day I was born." His lips quirked even wider, "That's right. The day I was born, I took the life of my own mother. She never even wanted me." He cocked his head to the side as his hazel eyes shimmered with pleasure beneath the sun's growing light. "I'm a monster."

The two were stunned into silence. That had not been what they were expecting! Still, how could a mother's death during childbirth be the child's fault? It didn't make sense to them. Souta's fingers twitched at his side. None of this made sense.

"I do have one confession to make." Tedric announced suddenly. "I was only given a single order. One that you might find rather… _intriguing_."

"I'm listening." Ryoutarou started as he closed in on their foe. Despite the man's blades being withdrawn, it didn't mean that they were out of the woods yet. There was still much that they didn't know about him and that unknown factor could very well lead to their downfall if he didn't play their cards right.

"I was specifically told that I had to _distract_ certain members of your guild. I knew one of you would at least follow Loys into the pub." The male withdrew the knife that he'd had earlier while they were still at _Sagard_ 's. It was short and not very menacing in comparison to his wrist reapers. "After all, we couldn't have the strongest members of the Fuurinkazan _and_ Knights of the Blood Oath attacking us at one time." Tedric's lips pulled into a sadistic smile—one that the red head was beginning to believe was a permanent expression for him. "By the time you make it back, your little friends will all be dead. The woman, your guild, even the Knights of the Blood Oath. Poof!" He accentuated his words by throwing his hands up in the air. "All… _gone_." With that, Tedric disappeared in a flicker of blue light.

"Shit!" Ryoutarou cursed. How had they not seen the teleportation crystal? Tedric didn't withdraw his blades because he was surrendering. He did it so he could engage the crystal. The short knife was only a tool to be used as a last means for self-defense in case they attacked. His brows furrowed into a sharp 'V' shape.

"Come on!" The red head snapped as he grabbed his companion by his arm. "We need to get to the others!" Souta didn't waste any time in following after him. The two ran as fast as they could into the forest—following along the main path. They only hoped that they would get there in time.

* * *

Heathcliff paused as the darkness surrounding the forest shifted. Something was horribly wrong. They were nearly to the river basin and there hadn't been a single orange player yet. His dark eyes narrowed as he focused in on the sound of rushing water and wild life. It was too quiet. He raised his hand to halt his men.

"Sir?" One of the inquired, peering around his shoulder and up at his face.

"I'll go on from here. The rest of you hang back. Retreat to the _Sela_ if things get dangerous." The grey haired male stated simply without room for argument. The two other members glanced at each other, fully ready to comment on the ridiculous idea. However the stern look in their leader's eyes warned them against it. Once he made up his mind, he was not to be persuaded. Nothing would convince him otherwise.

"Understood, sir." They stuttered, grasping onto their halberds tightly.

Heathcliff nodded as he marched forward into the empty clearing. Shime and her guild should be close to the rendezvous point by now. His dark eyes glanced around the area. There was no one and nothing. He stopped as he spied a small form hunched over within the river. Blonde hair was splayed across the muddy embankment and over the person's forearms. Her face was hidden beneath the curtain of locks. However a low, weak moan left the woman's lips. He reached out tentatively and tried to gently pluck her from the water's rushing waves.

The woman's head fell limply to the side.

"…Na… sa…" She muttered between pained breaths. "…Nagisa… run…" The man's expression darkened. So this was the woman. He collected her into his arms.

"Heathcliff!" Kagome called out as she leaped from the boughs above. "Is that her?" They'd only just managed to make it through the forest. It'd been oddly quiet and there hadn't been any sign of the orange players anywhere. The hair on the back of her neck rose. Something was definitely wrong. That combined with Ryoutarou's and Souta's absence. She was starting to get worried.

"Yes." He replied curtly. The older male began to observe the rest of the clearing. Everything was too quiet. It were almost as if… his gaze widened as several people fell to the ground. They'd jumped down from the trees above—opposite of where the Fuurinkazan had come from. The orange players had been lying in wait, just as she had anticipated. However neither Kagome nor Heathcliff had believed that they'd ignore his presence. She had truly believed that they'd launch an attack as soon as they saw him coming. The dark haired woman bit her lip. She'd screwed up.

The group watched in horror as they were outnumbered by their enemies. Cloaked in black, the orange players began to laugh and taunt.

"Seems like we've got a few rats." A scrawny man began as he placed his Sabre-type blade over the back of his shoulders. "What do you think Yvain?"

Azure eyes snapped to attention as a familiar figure appeared in front of her. The metal mask still shaded his face from view however she could practically hear his lips pulling into an overconfident smirk.

"Kill them." The mysterious person ordered. The black slots where his eyes were supposed to be were drawn to the blonde woman in Heathcliff's arms. Kagome stiffened as he lifted his mask to expose the twisted grin on his face. "After all, we can't exactly let our guests go without experiencing our _hospitality_ first hand, now can we?"

"Shime!" Dynamm called out her screen name as the Sabre-user thrusted his sword towards her face. She quickly stepped to the side and plunged her own rapier deep into his side. The scrawny male cried out in pain as his health dipped into the yellow. She ducked and pivoted, slashing across his open back, dropping the man's health into the red.

The clearing erupted into chaos. Blades clashed in a flurry of silver streaks and crimson sparks. Dale cried out as he pushed Yvain back with a single, mighty thrust of his heavy blade. The masked man didn't break a sweat as his feet dug into the soft earth—creating twin trails of carved out ridges beneath his feet.

Kagome ran forward, switching out with her comrade. She leapt into the air and came down on Yvain's open form. He'd let his defenses down. Now was the time to strike! The tip of her rapier barely scratched the metal covering of his face before his own heavy blade swung upwards, shattering her sword into several pieces. Azure eyes widened as she tried to get away from the danger bearing down on her.

"Shit." Was all the dark haired woman could say. She threw her arms up to cover her face as the flash of silver blinded her eyes. The sound of metal clanging against metal echoed in her ears. The young woman opened her eyes. She gasped at the sight of Ryoutarou's curved blade shaking with the force it was taking for him to hold off Yvain's attack. The swords clattered together as the red head pushed harder against the masked man.

"Nice try." Their leader taunted, "But don't think I'd just let you kill one of my comrades so easily." With a fierce swipe, he threw the man away from him. Yvain's back slammed into one of the trees. Their opponent panted as his back hunched from the impact. Green dipped, stopping only when it was a hair's breath away from going into yellow.

"You okay?" He cocked his head to the side to check her over for injuries. The man released a sigh of relief once he saw that her health bar was still in a green and unaffected by any status changes.

"I'm fine but the Eiki is gone." She commented while trying to stay out of the fighting for the time being. She had no other weapons to protect herself with. She was now a sitting duck. Her lips pressed into a thin line as another rapier user charged after her. The young woman ducked before burying her foot into the center of his abdomen; striking him in the solar plexus. The attack fell onto his back, struggling for breath.

Ryoutarou nodded, "Got it." He quickly opened up his menu and sifted through his items. During their grinding he'd managed to pick up a few extra weapons. They wouldn't be perfect but it'd be something. "Take this!" He called out as a Japanese Scimitar appeared in his hands. It was far longer than the Eiki was and had more of a curve to it. She caught the weapon in mid air. It was heavy to boot.

"Thanks!" Kagome called out. She turned around and pressed her back to his. It'd be difficult for her if she were to fight on her own right now with a weapon that she was unaccustomed to. So sticking near Ryoutarou would be the best bet. His lips pulled into an arrogant smirk.

"By the way, nice try with the distraction. Tedric certainly did his job well but he made one little mistake." The leader started as he approached Yvain's slump and still form. The strange man turned his face upwards, the bottom half of his mask cracking from the blow. It fell away in pieces, revealing a cringing expression and gritted teeth.

Ryoutarou pressed the tip of his sword to Yvain's flesh, "He picked the wrong guild to fuck with."

The two launched into a flurry of attacks. Yvain rose to his feet, paring their leader's blows with swift strikes of his own sword. Kagome lurched forward as another player tried to take advantage of the chaos. They pointed their blade towards Ryoutarou's side and attempted to plunge it deep into the exposed area. She twisted her body and used the momentum of the quick movement to slash upwards, knocking the sword away before it could do any harm to her companion. It flew out of the enemy's hands, landing harmlessly into the river just beyond. Water splashed up and hit the man, dotting his clothing with dark splotches. The young woman glanced over her shoulder, ensuring that he was still safe.

"I'll take care of the others. You deal with him!" She commanded.

He flashed her a smirk, "You got it!" Adrenaline pumped through his veins. His fingers tightened over the hilt of his sword. He wouldn't lose this fight. He had too much on the line.

Hazel eyes narrowed as Yvain tore his cloak from his body; revealing heavily scarred flesh. Thick, crisscrossing wounds littered the tanned surface of his arms. They'd long since healed over but the damage that had been done was clear for all to see.

The male began to laugh, "We won't be defeated so easily. There's still so much you don't understand." He brought his index finger and thumb to his lips. Biting down on the digits, he gave off a low whistle that reverberated throughout the clearing. The orange players glanced up towards the pair. Their blades were paused mid-strike as curiosity took over their expression. "Now!" The man called out, directing his attention towards Kagome's back. She stopped as the others quickly surrounded her. The young woman bit her lip. This wasn't good.

"Klein!" Their second in command called out in a panic. The Fuurinkazan double backed towards their comrade. She'd made yet another mistake by leaving Ryoutarou's side. Her azure eyes narrowed fiercely at the group bearing down on her. She lifted the Japanese Scimitar and shifted into a defensive stance. Regardless, she wouldn't give up. Not like this.

The dark haired woman dodged and weaved through the barrage of attacks. She cringed as the tip of a sword cut across her cheek, leaving a trail of red light in its wake. She hadn't known who'd dealt the blow but she retaliated by striking back against all those surrounding her with a wide swing of her sword. A crimson trail blared brightly across the armor of her enemies. Several health bars dipped into the red while others stepped back, fearful of taking on too much damage.

It was Heathcliff that made his way through the mass of orange players first. He adjusted the woman in his arms so that he could use his shield to block three attacks at once. Sparks flew from the contact, falling into the river harmlessly. He used his free hand to grasp his blade. With a single swipe, several more of the orange players fell away.

The blonde shifted as consciousness began to return to her. The woman blinked as sword clashed over her head. She gave off a small scream, kicking wildly to get as far away from the threat.

"Let me go!" The woman thrashed, beating her fists against Heathcliff's scarlet armor. His grip tightened as his expression darkened.

"Stop struggling, we're here to help." The older male snapped, shifting on his foot and paring another attack with his shield. She screamed again, covering her eyes.

"My daughter!" The blonde cried out, "Where's my daughter!"

Heathcliff fought the urge to sigh as the group backed away ever so slightly. They narrowed their eyes at him and licked their lips in anticipation. This was proving a more difficult task than originally intended.

"She's safe. That's all you need to know." The grey haired man chose to hang onto the writhing mother as to prevent her from inadvertently placing herself in harm's way. The last thing any of them needed at this point was for their target to get herself killed by her own stupidity. The woman stilled as she took in their faces. She glanced between him and Kagome's fighting form. Her eyes widened as recognition lit up her features.

"They were right." The blonde's mouth went dry. "They really did save her."

The two paused as the scrawny male from before returned. He pointed his sabre towards the dark haired woman's back. Kagome attempted to block the attack but found her movements stilled by another's grip on her shoulders.

"Damn it!" The woman cursed.

Heathcliff's hold on the woman loosened briefly. He pressed forward, fully attempting to block the attack when the blonde darted past him. His eyes widened as crimson splashed across his vision. The very person they were attempting to save had thrown herself in front of the weapon's curved arc towards Kagome.

The woman screamed in pain as her health bar dipped into the red—leaving only a single point before death took her. Azure eyes widened in shock as she shook herself free from her hold. The young woman ran forward, collapsing onto her knees as she cradled the other's head in her lap.

"What were you thinking!" Kagome snapped, withdrawing a healing crystal from her menu.

Heathcliff stood beside them, using his shield to block their vulnerable forms from attack. His teeth gritted together as he found himself being pushed back by a tank type user.

Souta managed to dive into the fray, throwing his shoulder into the tank user and using his own heavy blade to knock the enemy away.

"Guard them! We need to give them time to heal!" The teen commanded as the rest of the Fuurinkazan managed to fight their way through the orange players; forming a protective circle around their second in command.

The blonde in Kagome's arms sucked in a breath, "They said that you saved her. I didn't believe them." Tears welled up in the mother's eyes. "Please, keep her safe. Send my child home."

The ex-priestess shook her head, "There's no way! That's your job damn it! Now stop talking. We need to heal you." She activated the crystal, its green glass-like surface shimmered brightly when something flashed in the corner of her eye. Kagome raised the Scimitar and attempted to block it. However the woman could only gasp as the object soared past her sword and directly into their target's chest.

"No!" She cried out, watching as the final point of the woman's health bar dipped to zero before disappearing altogether.

A wry smile spread across the woman's lips, "Send her home. Protect… Nagisa…." With that her body became engulfed in blue light before shattering away in her arms.

Across the clearing Ryoutarou paused in his attack. His eyes widened as he realized what had just happened.

"You son of a bitch!" The red head roared, slamming his curved sword into Yvain. His strikes became blurred as he forced his speed to increase. Just a little more. He gnashed his teeth together as fury engulfed his being.

"What's the purpose in this?" The male screamed, "Why are you so intent on killing? What's the point!" Their blades collided in a flash of silver and scarlet. The metallic clang rang loudly in their ears.

"I told you before didn't I?" Yvain leaned his head forward, "There _is_ no point. It's death. Just like in real life, there is no meaning to be gained from it." His lips pulled into a familiar sadistic smirk. "There is no point in death. There's only nothingness."

Ryoutarou took a step forwards. He pressed his sword harder against Yvain's heavy blade. The other man was forced to dig his feet into the ground to prevent from being pushed back into the tree from which he was thrown against earlier. Hazel eyes narrowed as the Fuurinkazan leader pushed with all of his strength, grunting in satisfaction as Yvain was helplessly pinned to the trunk. The man adjusted his sword, forcing his opponent to tilt his neck to the side to avoid having his own blade cut into his neck from the force.

"So you're killing…" The red head began as the orange player's heavy blade started to pierce the soft flesh at the conjunction of his throat and collarbone. "… just for the sake of killing? What kind of sick freak are you?"

Yvain coughed as his air supply started to be cut off, "Sick? No, not sick. I'm far worse than that." The stranger pressed forward, not caring that he was putting his own life at risk by allowing his own sword to pierce more deeply into the vulnerable area of his body. "Being sick implies a lack of control, I however am in full control. What I am far surpasses that idealism of being 'cured'. I am…" He stepped forward, "… a _monster_."

Ryoutarou stepped back as the man's health bar dropped far into the red. His brows furrowed as he tried to reason with himself. He couldn't justify killing the player. They'd spent this much effort just to save a woman who was now dead. If he were to strike now and deal that finishing blow, then would that not make him just as bad?

Yvain took the choice from him as he brought his thumb and index finger to his lips once more. Another whistle echoed through the clearing. All the other players paused in their skirmishes.

"This is far from over… _Fuurinkazan_." He withdrew a blue shimmering crystal from his cloak: a teleportation crystal. "Next time we meet, it'll be our last."

The stranger took a deep breath, "Teleport: Town of Beginnings!" With that he flickered away. The rest of the orange players slowly began to disappear away as well—leaving only the small guild to glance between one another.

Kagome sat silently from her spot in the clearing. Her bangs shadowed her eyes as she glanced at the small knife embedded in the earth before her. She reached out and took hold of the object. Turning it over, she activated its stats. A finger twitched as she glanced at the name. In small lettering the title 'Final Judgment' appeared above the small dagger. The whole event had been preplanned. They'd never intended on letting the woman or her child live. She had led her guild straight into a trap—willingly ignoring the warning signs flashing in front of her face. What good was she? She was so damn useless.

Her lips pulled back into a snarl, "Damn it!" Her fist pounded into the grassy embankment. "Damn it!" She screamed again, repeating the action. "Damn it all to hell!"

The group stood silently as they watched her scream her fury. They understood it so perfectly. The only thing they'd wanted to do was to save a single person, yet they couldn't even manage that much. They'd simply fallen for the trap. Hook, line and sinker.

Souta was the first to move. The teen brushed past Heathcliff's still form as he placed his hand on his sibling's shoulder.

"Come on," The young man started as he lifted her onto her feet. "We should head back." His heart ached in his chest. He knew this feeling so well. Images of white marble floors and flashes of scarlet echoed from the shadows of his memories. His grip on her tightened. He promised that it'd never happen again—and he failed that promise. Azure eyes narrowed as he pulled his sister along. The group surrounded them quietly. Their gazes were drawn to the ground. He needed to get stronger. That would be the only way.

Ryoutarou took a deep breath. He followed in behind the others as Heathcliff stepped beside him. Overall they'd won against the orange players in their matches. However their victory was an empty one. In the end they hadn't succeeded in their objective. A little girl who'd pinned all of her hopes on them was now orphaned. His fist balled at his side. Hazel eyes narrowed as he took in the crimson monochrome of the morning's dawn. Never again.

The following morning all of the papers and news feeds were roaring with the announcement of a guild of players whose only goal was to harm and kill others. It was stated that after they'd retreated to the Town of Beginnings, an information broker had spread the word of their existence. The name they'd preferred to be called? Laughing Coffin. For only those who saw no meaning in death could laugh in its face.

The guild sat silently in the lobby of the _Sela_ , listening as the players rambled off about the red players—ignoring the loud sobbing of the child most affected.

_Did you hear? They said that two guilds took them on last night!_

The men sat like statues. Their eyes glued to the ground as their fists tightened with fury.

_Really? Two small forces taking on a group of that magnitude? That's insanity!_

A shadow fell over Ryoutarou's eyes as he rested his chin on the back of his clasped hands. It was no victory. It couldn't even be classified as bittersweet. They'd gained nothing.

_Yeah! Heathcliff from Knights of the Blood Oath and that Fuurinkazan guild! I knew there was something special about those guys!_

Kagome glared over at the crowd. She took the sobbing child into her arms before carrying her back to their room. Her hand engulfed the girl's smaller one. Her grip tightened.

Never again.

**Works Cited:**

** Tzu, Sun. _The Art of War_. Trans. Lionel Giles. New York: Barnes and Noble Books, 2003. Print.  
**Thomas, Dylan. "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night." . Academy of American Poets, 1937. Web. 14 June 2016.


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